The Masquerade Game
by Shannkhoo
Summary: "Everyone wears masks Draco, some people are just better at playing the game than others." she said sadly. "What game?" he asked. "The Masquerade Game." she said simply before returning to her room. [Draco/Hermione] WARNING - contains cutting, eating disorders, harsh language, etc.
1. First Thoughts

**A/N- This is my very first story on this site ever, so please be kind. If I have taken any content from anyone else, I apologize. Please tell me and I will try to change the story so it won't be exactly the same. I just really like Dramione and i felt like writing some, as I LOVE reading it on this site. Thanks :)**

**I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING, I TAKE NO CREDIT FOR J.K. ROWLING'S AWESOME WORLD. (Just thought i should say it)**

Draco's POV

Draco Malfoy was a nervous wreck, but it obviously didn't show on his face. He had on his usual mask on, a cross between boredom and annoyance, as he crossed the barrier that lead to Platform 9 ¾ . The fire truck red steam engine train was waiting for all the Hogwarts students to board it. Draco had wondered why he had bothered coming back to complete his 7th year, but ultimately, his mother had convinced him to return.

After the war, Draco and his mother had been pardoned by the minister, Kingsley Shaklebolt, seeing as how both he and his mother had lied to Bellatrix and Voldemort respectively, to save the boy-who-lived. This did not mean they had gotten away scotch free, he and his mother had their wands taken away from them for the year. Draco was only allowed to get his wand back due to the fact that he was to return to Hogwarts and needed his wand for school. His mother would get her wand back by the end of the year.

But his father, Lucius, had not been so lucky. He, being in Voldemorts inner circle, had earned himself a private cell in Askaban for life. The minister had taken any measure necessary to ensure nothing like the war would happen again. All known Death Eaters had been locked up and very few people were pardoned, Draco being thankful he was one of the few.

Seeing as to how his father was locked up and all, the Malfoy fortune and businesses had been left to him. This was another reason why he needed his N.E.W.T. results, to show all his business partners he was qualified to run the family business.

And so it was, Draco Malfoy, the only Malfoy heir, was making his way through the platform and into the train.

He had found an empty compartment not long after and tucked his trunk above his seat. He took out a muggle book he had started reading, just because he was a pureblood did not mean he did not appreciate muggle literature, it was one of the few things he thought that muggles managed to do correctly. Just as he began reading, the compartment door had slid open, and entered a witch with bushy brown hair. It was Hermione Granger.

"Oh Malfoy! I didn't know it was you. Then again how could I not? No one else at school has hair like yours. I mean, the colour of your hair, not the way it looks. Not that your hair doesn't look nice or anything, oh, why do I bother? Hello Malfoy. How was your summer?" While Hermione had babbled on, Draco had noticed that she was no longer the dorky, bucktoothed witch with insanely bushy brown hair, though her hair was still bushy, it had calmed down a bit. She now looked more feminine, and if he dare say, pretty. It was only when Hermione had started to wave her hand in front of his face, did he realize she had addressed him.

"Excuse me? I didn't catch any of what you were babbling about. What was it you wanted Granger?" he asked her after he had snapped out of his daze.

"Hmm, rude as ever I see Malfoy. I was simple asking how your summer was. What actually brought me into your compartment was the book you are holding, Game of Thrones, am I right?"

"Oh, the book, of course, you're Granger. Yes it is." He answered her curtly.

"I didn't know you read muggle literature. I thought you purebloods wouldn't want anything to do with the muggle world." She inquired, a genuinely puzzled look on her face. The expression on her face almost made Draco laugh, it was rare to see Granger with such an expression.

"I do appreciate a couple things muggles have done, literature being one of them. Now, what are you really doing here? Come to make sure I behave according to the rules? You haven't to worry about that, I'm Head-boy after all, I need to set an example. So you need not fear me Granger." It was true, Draco had received his head boy badge a couple weeks prior to the date. He was surprised that he had gotten the position, based on his past actions, he would've thought that Potter would get the prestigious Head-boy position, not him. That made him wonder, what McGonagall was up to?

**That's chapter 1 i guess. i hope it wasn't boring. please R/R :) **


	2. The Bookworms Day

**A/N: If anyone thinks i own this story/world it's in, i can only wish i did. This is only based off J.K's amazing world. R/R please :)**

Hermione's POV

"You're Head-boy?" Hermione seemed taken aback. She thought either Harry or Ernie would be Head-boy. Well, if she thought about it, Draco was a possible candidate for Head-boy too. He had been second in class, after herself of course, he was very influential in his house, and he was a prefect. So, when she had thought it over, it wasn't really a shock.

"Hermione?" a voice behind her had taken her from her thoughts. It was Harry and Ginny. "What are you doing with Malfoy?" there was a slightly bitter tone to his question. Despite Harry having stood up for Malfoy and his mother during his trials, he still abhorred the boy, there was too much history between them for everything to be forgiven completely.

"Oh Harry, I was just asking him about the book he was reading, nothing much. I'll meet up with you guys in a minute, don't worry." She said to comfort him. Ginny then nudged her boyfriend to move on, Ginny looking slightly confused, but did not question her. Hermione had appreciated that about the younger witch, and they had become pretty good friends. Their friendship was also formed from the time they had spent together over the many holidays and years they have known one another. They had eventually become very good friends. Dating Ron meant dating his whole family, and she was fine with that. She truly loved the boy.

"Why did you tell the boy wonder to move along? Don't you want to be rid of my presence?" Draco's words had brought her out of her thoughts yet again.

"Oh, I just wanted to tell you that I was made Head-girl. Just thought you should know." And with that, she walked out of the compartment and went to search for Harry, Ginny and her boyfriend.

She found them a minute later, along with the three she was looking for, Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom were in the compartment as well.

"Luna! Neville! How nice to see the both of you." She said as she hugged both of them then proceeded to sit next to her boyfriend.

"Hermione, you seem to have gotten taller. Not to mention tanner. What did you do over the summer?" Neville asked.

"Oh nothing much, I just spent a lot of time under the sun at the Burrow, jogging and the lot. I've been getting into health and fitness lately." She informed Neville. Lately, she had been spending more time exercising and had eating healthily all summer. She had grown a couple inches taller, but her height was dwarfed by Ron's towering figure. Ron complained whenever she did not allow him to eat too much or when she ban him to eat certain foods. As a result, he had lost all the fat that was beginning to accumulate around his belly, and it had been replaced with muscle. She had to say, her boyfriend was hot.

"Hermione?" Harry had asked her a question, but bring Hermione and getting lost in her thoughts once again, she had not heard the question.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked what you and Malfoy were talking about previously."

"It was nothing much, I just noticed the book he was holding and thought he was someone else and was about to engage in a conversation about the book, only then did I realize it was Malfoy. He then told me he was Head-boy. I just thought I should tell him I was Head-girl. Nothing much."

"Malfoy's Head-boy? Is McGonagall crazy? What was she thinking putting a slimy git like that as the Head-boy?" Ron interrupted Harry before he could comment. Ron, obviously, loathed the boy more than Harry did. He had blamed Malfoy for Fred's death, along with many others. Although, Ron had hated the blonde boy since day one, and the feeling was obviously mutual.

"I'm sure McGonagall has her reasons and I won't question her judgment. If Malfoy is who she has appointed for Head-boy, then so be it. I won't allow him to distract me from my own duties as Head-girl." Hermione had stated simply. She didn't hate Draco as her friends did, she knew there was a lot more to the boy than he let on. And she was going to unmask all of them.

**hope you guys like the second chapter :)**


	3. Thestrals and the new Great Hall

**This is the third chapter, i hope you like it. Please R/R :) **

**A/N- I do not own, nor take credit for any of the ideas that J.K. had come up with. I am simply writing Dramione as I love that ship sooo hard. **

Draco's POV

As the carriages arrived at the large doors leading into the large castle, all Draco could think about was the fact that he could now see the Thestrals. He then thought back to the war and tried to remember the first person he had seen killed in front of him, it was no challenge, it was Dumbledore. Seeing his headmaster getting murdered by his head of house had taken a toll on his mind. It was then he realized he was on the wrong side. He wanted nothing more than to be away from the life he knew, and be someone else, somewhere else. He then looked down to his wrists, the glamour charm he had placed there to hide all his scars worked wonders.

The carriages stopped and he stepped out of it, followed by Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson and Theodore Nott. He was so glad that Pansy and Theo had gotten together. He didn't know how he would survive another year with Pansy fawning over him.

The castle looked different. The restorations had taken place immediately after the war, had lasted all throughout summer, and was finally completed a week before school started. The general layout of the castle was the same, but the walls were newer, cleaner. There were now carvings and detailing that ran along the walls. Pictures and names of students, teachers and other people who had fought in the war was hanging across the entrance to the Great Hall.

Much had changed in the Great Hall. The ceiling was still enchanted to reflect the sky outside, the hundreds of candles were still floating in the air and the teachers table was still in the front of the hall. But that was all that remained of the previous Great Hall.

It was now roughly double the previous size and gone were the four long wooden tables for each house. In their place were hunderds of small, round, glasslike tables, each with four seats of different colours. A red, a blue, a green and a yellow chair was placed around each table.

Draco had a sickening feeling he knew what these changes meant.

"Your attention please everyone!" Professor McGonagall called out to all the students. Everyone seemed confused and did not know where to sit, so they sat on the floor, for whatever reason, Draco did not know. He instead sat on a green chair in the back of the room, Balise and Pansy following suit. "I am sure everyone is very confused as to why the house tables are gone and have been replaced. As most of you know, the ministry is doing its best efforts to ensure another war, based on blood purity or whatever it may be, never happens again. So, I am doing my part as headmistress, to see to it that no student under this roof shall be prejudice to any other student for whatever reason.

"For this to happen, the houses must achieve unity. As you all could probably guess by now, the chairs around each table belongs to a separate house, red for Gryffindor, green for Slytherin, blue for Ravenclaw and yellow for Hufflepuff. The chairs have been magically charmed to only allow a student from the houses that correspond to its colours to sit on it. If a student from, lets say, Gryffindor were to sit on a blue chair, they would be unable to sit on the chair, as the chair would either disappear or simply move back. This means, each table would have a student from each of the four houses at it. Now that everyone knows the way the chairs work, please, get off the floors and find yourself a table."

Everyone got off the floor, and the students started to mumble and voice out their opinions on the new system, and the seating arrangements. McGonagall did not bother to listen to any of the bickering and comments. Most of the students from Gryffindor and Slytherin houses remained standing. Draco had predicted that something like this would happen, there had been too much bad blood between the two houses.

"Dinner would not be served until ALL the students have found seats." McGonagall announced, she emphasized on all. That was all it took for the students to put their differences aside and finally sit down. Once all the students had been seated, with a lot of grumbling and rude comments being thrown about, the Sorting Ceremony begun and ended within a matter of minutes. The feast was as amazing as it always had been. The house elves had outdone themselves for this opening feast.

Not long after, the last of the desserts had been vanished, the headmistress had gotten to the podium and made her after dinner announcement.

"As I am sure everyone is feeling full and sleepy, I have a few more announcements. Firstly, the new Head boy and girl for the year 1999 are Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy." When Draco's name was mentioned, whispers and mummers erupted from all over the great hall. The first act of unity, and it gossip about him. Draco had to admit, he felt a little proud he was able to help unite the houses in talking about him and how he had gotten the position and also a little annoyed as people found it hard for him to have been chosen for the position of Head-boy.

"Please join me in wishing them luck in their duties. Secondly, Mr. Filtch has all the banned objects list outside his office, I urge everyone to read it. And lastly, if I, or any other teachers or prefects, were to witness any act of prejudice or bullying amongst anyone in this school, they would be given either detention or face expulsion, depending on the severity of their actions. That would be all. You may return to your common rooms. Oh, Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Granger, please come to the front."

As students were lead out of the Great Hall by prefects and teachers to their common rooms, Draco and Hermione moved towards the teachers table.

"Ms. Granger, Mr. Malfoy, you will not be returning to your usual dormitaries. The head prefects have their personal quarters. If you would please follow me." The headmistress had said curtly then turned on her heel and exited the hall, not turning to check if Draco or Hermione had followed her, but they did.


	4. Aberrant

**Again, I own none of these characters, all rights to J.K. Rowling. I hope you like the third chapter. :)**

Hermione's POV

McGonagall lead them up to the painting of the four founders, on the fifth floor, each founder sitting on intricately designed thrones, their thrones matching their house colours. Hermione had passed this painting countless times and had always thought that something important had to be behind the painting, she was right.

"Now, if you and Mr. Malfoy would please decide on a password. Your living quarters will be behind this painting. You may change the password as many times as you wish, but only when both are present and have agreed on a mutual password. I urge the both of you to not tell any of your friends the password. This is to ensure no one takes advantage of it and for personal safety and privacy. So please, keep the passwords to yourselves." And with those words, McGonagall left them.

"It seems a Gryffindor and a Slytherin are the Heads this year. Well, good luck to the both of you, and try not to kill one another. We know how these two fight." Rowena Ravenclaw told the two of them, the last part of her sentence meant for Salazar and Godric. "Have you thought of your password yet?"

"How about something simple, like 'unum'? It means unity in Latin." Hermione suggested.

"How very obvious that would be" Draco immediately shot her suggestion down. "I propose something like 'aberrant'. Because no one would think to try that and it is unusual that I would be Head-boy after all."

"Aberrant. Sure." Agreed Hermione. She then turned to face the portrait of the founders "I, Hermione Jean Granger and, Head-girl," "And I, Draco Lucius Malfoy, Head-boy," "Have decided to use 'aberrant' as our password." Concluded Hermione. The four founders nodded, and the canvas swung open.

Hermione, wanting to be the first to see how her new common room looked like, rushed in like an over excited child. When she had passed through the portrait hole, her eyes met an amazing sight.

Their new common room was huge, for two people at least. There was a large fireplace in the middle of the room, with two large semi-circle couches surrounding it, one red and one green. There was a large staircase which lead to two separate doors. There were two large wooden tables and chairs facing one another along a wall that was made entirely out of glass, the glass wall overlooking the Black Lake. There was a small balcony as well.

Hermione went up to the door that was labeled 'Head Girls Room' and opened it. At first, everything was blurry, then when everything re-focused, it had become the room she had always wanted. The walls were a bright scarlet and the door was a shimmering gold colour. There was a large four poster bed with lilac sheets with matching pillows. She had another desk in this room, it was a smaller white table with a small table lamp in one corner. Above the table, she had dozens of book shelves, all filled to the breaking point with books. That, she concluded on the spot, was her favorite part of the room.

She walked over to one of the three doors in her room, it was a massive walk in closet. She didn't even have enough clothes to fill the drawers! She walked over to the next door, it was the bathroom. She instantly noticed the bathroom had another door leading out of it. This could only mean that she was to share a bathroom with Draco. She didn't really care, but she thought a certain blonde Slytherin would.

The bathroom was rather big, and it was decorated in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw colours, it had a big tub in one corner of the room, and two sinks, each with cabinets underneath it and a toilet. Nothing special.

After she had settled into her new room, she had taken a quick shower, gotten into comfy sweats and a tank top and fell into a deep sleep. The last thing she remembered, was thinking that this was going to be an interesting year.


	5. Pianos and Violins

I noticed there was a little error in my plot, so I'm re-uploading this chapter and chapter 7. Sorry for the confusion, i just noticed my mistake..

Pls R&R. Thanks :)

Draco's POV

Draco was genuinely amazed at his new home away from home.

His room had emerald green walls with silver doors and a large black four poster bed, with pale blue sheets and matching pillows, in one corner of the large room. There was a pure white grand piano in another corner with a violin on holder next to it and a smaller dark forest green sofa with a low wooden coffee table in front of it in the other corner. He then saw his wardrobe. Not even his own wardrobe in the Malfoy Manor had this much space or clothes.

It was then he noticed the bathroom had another door leading out of it, and this could only mean he was to share the bathroom with Granger. He didn't think much about it. If she didn't bother him, he'd be lucky.

He exited the bathroom, cast a silencing charm on his room, and walked over to the grand piano and the violin. He had not touched a piano nor a violin since he was ten. He started playing both instruments when he was three, his mother had taught him. Narcissa was a very big advocate of music, both classical and modern. But she had preferred to teach Draco classical music, as it sounded more gentle and calming. Little Draco would play for his mother whenever she was stressed or when she was feeling down.

But he had stopped when his father had walked in on him playing the piano when he was ten. His father had slammed his fingers with the fallboard and shattered all the bones in eight of his fingers. His father had simply sneered and said, he said he did not want his son wasting his time on pointless activity, when he could be practicing magic for he was to enter Hogwarts the following year. Tough love.

Draco had asked the house elves to heal his hands. He didn't want his mother to find out about this. When his mother had noticed he had stopped playing, told her he just was not interested anymore. His mother had always wanted him to be the best version of himself, so she didn't press on. While his father had wanted him to become like himself, a Death Eater namely.

He had spent most of his life trying to make his father proud, but he gave up when he figured that his father could never be pleased with how he turned out to be. And now that his father was as good as dead, he was free of his father's scrutiny.

He opened the fallboard and started to play. He was surprised that he still remembered how to play. He tested his memory and played the songs he could still remember. He started with something simple, 'twinkle twinkle little stars', then he progressed to more complex songs, like Beethoven's 'Für Elise' and Bach's 'Grande Valse Brillante'. He was a big fan of classics, whether it be music, art or literature. But his favorite song to play on the piano would have to be 'It is hard to say goodbye' by Michael Ortega. He loved the way sad songs sounded as a whole and the way they expressed the composers feeling so clearly. He could relate to them the most.

Draco would play usually reflected how he felt, and as he had to keep all his emotions bottled up for so long, all his emotions fled out of him as he played on. He played as though the music could somehow heal him, as though he could drown in the music and let all his worries and problems float away. He hadn't felt this free in years. He had forgotten all about the world and all the worries he had had over the years. Whether it was his father's disapproval or the expectations from his peers, teachers and everyone else, or the Dark Lord in general, he had never felt this free, ever.

He stopped playing after what seemed like hours. His fatigue had gotten the best of him, he never want to stop playing ever again. He then changed and went straight to bed, not bothering to shower.

That was the first night Draco Malfoy did not have any nightmares, whatsoever, in years.

Or so he thought.


	6. I'll Be Fine

**So sorry for the late update, i had quite a lot going on, exams and family things. Anyway, the next chapter is up, I hope you like it :) pls R&R **

Hermione's POV

Hermione awoke with a start the next morning, before the sun had even risen. She had momentarily forgotten where she was, then she remembered her new dormitory and her new roommate. She had woken up this early every day, from the months she, Harry and Ron had spent searching for Horcruxes. She would get up before the boys to check on the wards and the protection spells she had put up and strong, to ensure no snatchers or Death Eaters had found their camp.

All this had taken its toll on all three of them, some more than others. Harry had Ginny to talk to, Ron had his whole family, but Hermione had no one. She didn't want to worry her parents or her friends, she had to look brave and strong to convince herself and everyone around her. She had to hold her head high and act like everything was all right, she always did.

Normally, she would wake up, read a book or two, then watch the sun rise. She loved watching the rising sun, the colours it gave off and the serene atmosphere. She liked the peace, she missed the days where she could sit under a tree and read a book, without fear of anyone attacking her. Even now that Voldemort had been destroyed, there were still former Death Eaters or their families who were after all of them.

She took her time getting out of bed, it was only 5 in the morning after all, she still had plenty of time to get ready. She washed up, picked a random book, made her way downstairs and settled herself on one of the couches in the common room. She then noticed she had picked her copy of A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin and remembered that Draco was reading it on the train. She wondered why he was reading muggle literature. She then began to read and get lost in the book.

It was an hour later when she had stopped reading and went back up to get ready. She had started to take care of the way she looked ever since she and Ron had started dating. She did her hair nicely, wore a bit of makeup and she had even started to wear her shirt a little tighter and her skirt a little shorter.

Ron used to criticize the way she looked, the way her skirt was always below her knee and how she looked like she had just gotten out of bed, which she usually had, she used to be late for almost everything. But now, since the war, she had done a complete 180, she was awake before anyone else, arrived early for any event and never overslept.

After she was done getting ready, she headed down to the Great Hall, breakfast started at 7, and she wanted to reach her classes early so she could read up on what the teacher was to be teaching in class that day, as always. She arrived at the hall ten minutes after 7, and the hall was already half full. Students must've thought that if they had gotten to the hall early, they won't have to sit with anyone they wouldn't like, they were obviously wrong.

She moved her way through the crowd and sat at a table near the front, it was three quarters full. Luna, Ernie and a blonde Slytherin girl was already seated at the table. She wished all of them good morning and introduced herself to the blonde girl. She was surprised that the girl, whom Hermione had found out was Astoria Greengrass, had actually responded kindly, and not like any other Slytherin she had met before.

Hermione filled her bowl with a generous helping of porridge and picked a couple pieces of toast while she tried converse with the people at her table. Luna was off in her own world, Ernie was too busy studying, so the only person she talked to was Astoria. But before she could take a bite of her breakfast, a voice stopped her.

"Isn't that an awful lot love?" a familiar voice said behind her. Ron.

"Leave her alone Ron, she's too thin after all. She could afford to gain a few pounds. Morning 'Mione." A kinder, yet firm, voice said behind her. Harry.

"Thin?" Ron laughed. "She looks like she had gained a few over the holidays. She should lose some if you ask me." Hermione felt her face go red and suddenly felt like she wasn't as hungry as she had been a few moments ago.

"Oh, shove off Ron, go find a table for yourself, it's not like we're going to be sitting together anyway." Harry said as Ron walked off. "Ignore him, he's just cranky from not getting anything to eat yet. You really do look too thin. Anyway, see you in class 'Mione." Harry finished as he walked off to find a table to sit at.

"Shouldn't you eat something?" A dreamy voice asked her. "It's not good to start your day without eating anything."

"I'll be fine Luna, I'll get something for lunch." Hermione replied, as she got up to leave for her class. It was ten minutes later when she got to the first class of the day, Charms, with Professor Flitwick. She sat at the table in the front of the class. She felt like she needed to set an example for the other students to follow. She opened her books and began to go through her copy of Advanced Charms by Agatha Joy for the tenth time.

It was fifteen minutes later when she heard someone place their bag on the table next to hers. She looked up from her book, and who she saw surprised her, Blaise Zabini, the playboy from Slytherin.

"Blaise. Why are you sitting next to me?" Hermione inquired. She and Blaise had an unusual friendship, if that was what you called being constantly hit on and pestered by a boy you barely know and getting asked random questions at random times of the day. Yes, she and Zabini knew each other. He had first tried hitting on her in the library in their 5th year.

"Why can't I just sit next to my good friend? What do you think I'm up to? That offends me Granger, you should know me better." Blaise said in mock hurt. "It just so happens that my good friend also happens to be the brightest witch of her age, and I would like to tap in on some of that knowledge." Finished Blaise.

Hermione raised her eyebrows but did not reply him. She then chose to ignore Zabini and returned to her book as the other students filled into the class, followed by the arrival of the professor himself.


	7. Nightmares

This is the modified chapter 7, sorry for any confusion..

Pls R&R, Thanks.

(I own only the plot, nothing else.)

Draco's POV

Draco awoke from his nightmare sweating and breathing heavily. He had originally had a pretty good dream, but it was short lived. His dream soon changed into a horrid nightmare. He has been having nightmares ever since the beginning of the war. His nightmares had gotten worse recently, although he did not know why. Lord Voldermort was gone, his father was as good as and he did not have to kill anyone. But still, the nightmares kept getting worse.

They ranged from seeing his mother getting tortured by either Lord Voldermort, his father or, worse still, himself to remembering terrible things that he wished he could forget. He didn't want to remember the way things used to be, the way he used to be, he wished that he could just forget about all the things he had done in the past. But he knew he had to learn from his mistakes in order to change and be a better person, both for himself and for his mother. He wanted to make her proud.

This nightmare was different from the ones he usually had, it was a memory, and it involved a girl with long bushy brown hair, Hermione. He saw her getting tortured by his derailed aunt again, like once wasn't enough. He could remember her screams, the way she cried out for help, and how the fire had extinguished from her eyes as Bellatrix carved that horrible word into her forearm.

He thought it strange as he never used to have nightmares that included her, never. He thought it must be that he is currently living with her that triggered the nightmare.

He looked over to the clock, it read 6.30 in the morning. He thought it best to start getting ready for the day. So he hopped into the shower, and changed into his robes. He used to slick back his hair, but in recent years, he had gotten tired of the look and opted for a more natural look. He didn't do anything with it, it was getting too long, some strands of hair were dangling in front of his eye. He cast a concealment spell on his left arm and he was good to go.

He left the dormitory, taking note that Granger had already left, her door was left open. He could see her room wall, how very Gryffindor of her.

He went down to the Hall and searched for an empty table, the last thing he wanted right now was company. While he was looking around, he noticed Hermione sitting somewhere near the front of the hall with Astoria, his bethroved. His mother had told him that he was to marry Astoria when they turned 21. He groaned inwardly at the memory, it wasn't that Astoria wasn't a nice girl, she was, she just wasn't the girl he had hoped to marry. Strange as it seemed, Draco Malfoy was an old romantic, he wanted to marry a girl because he loved her and vice versa, not because it was a contract signed by his parents. But nonetheless, Draco would still have to marry her unless he found a suitable replacement. And only if his mother approved.

He found an empty table towards the end of the hall and sat there. From his seat, he could still see Hermione and she was joined by the boy-who-lived and the weasel, although, they seemed to be arguing, what about, he didn't know, but it seemed to really bother Granger. He kept looking at her table as he nibbled on his toast. He noticed not a minute after Ron and Harry had left her table, and before she had even taken a bite from the food in front of her, Hermione had left the hall.

He thought it was weird that she didn't eat anything, but was interrupted from thinking anything else, as a hand slapped him hard on the back, causing him to spill the pumpkin juice he was about to drink, all onto his shirt.

"BLAISE!" Draco yelled as he saw the dark skinned Italian. "What the hell was that or?"

"Trying to grab your attention away from Granger, or do I have competition?" Blaise teased as he nudged his best mate playfully. "So what's up with you and Granger? Did you do anything frisky last night?" He said that while wagging his eyebrows suggestively.

"I have no idea what gave you the thought, are you mad? Granger?" Draco said as he casted a quick Scourgify spell on this shirt.

"Yes Granger. You have to agree, she's gotten hot over the past year or so."

"I didn't notice. She ran straight to her room and I to mine. I fell asleep not long after. I haven't seen her at all since then." Draco stiffened. No one knew he could play instruments besides himself and his mother, and he would like to keep it that way.

"Drake. You need to lighten up a bit. I was merely stating an observation. No need to be so uptight. Anyway, see you in Charms." Blaise waved goodbye as he left the hall.

Draco finished up his breakfast, no one else came near his table, and that was the way he liked it. Class would start soon, so he left to go find the new Charms classroom.

When he entered, there wasn't many noticeable changes, the interior was still the same, but with newer and cleaner furnishings.

It took him a second to notice that Blaise was sitting in the front, something he never did, and another second to realize who he was sitting next to, Hermione Granger. He didn't say anything as Professor Flitwick entered the classroom, calling for everyone to find seats. He was forced to sit next to Millicent Bulstrode of all people, as she was the closest one to where he was previously standing.


	8. A Snake and a Git

Sorry for the late update, and for the length of this one. Please R&R.

Hermione's POV

Charms class went by uneasily. Ron and Harry kept staring and trying to talk to her the entire class. They didn't know that she and Blaise were friends; they didn't know she even talked to him. So she could guess that seeing her and Blaise together must've looked odd, treason in their eyes. They never really got over the whole 'Slytherin is bad' thing. She had, she knew that no one house is all bad or all good, there were both good and bad in every house, Slytherin just may have more compared to the other houses.

She had honestly hoped that Harry and Ron would somehow forgive the house of the snake like she had and give them a second chance, but they didn't, especially Ron. He blamed the entire house for the death of Fred.

Hermione tried her best to pay attention in class and ignore anyone who wasn't the teacher. But she wasn't as lucky when class was dismissed.

Ron rounded on her, with fire in his eyes, not the good kind, as soon as she exited the class and demanded an explanation. Harry on the other hand, just looked worried, he always did. Hermione took a breath and tried to explain to her friends what had happened, without making Blaise seem like a bad guy.

"I was just sitting in class after breakfast before class started to get some reading in, then Blaise sat beside me because we know each other and he is a pretty nice guy. And no Ron, I do not like him as anything more than a friend. Understand?"

"I don't understand why you didn't ask him to sit somewhere else." Ron spat. "He is a snake 'Mione, he can't be trusted. He is also a git."

"No he is not Ronald. Blaise and I are actually friends. Now, if you two don't mind, I'm going to Transfiguration before McGonagall deducts points from our house." She said, then turning towards the staircase heading in the direction of the classroom.

Her little 'speech' caught the boys off guard, but they soon snapped out of it and followed her without asking anymore questions. She knew that Harry was just worried that Blaise would try to hurt her, but Ron was just plain jealous. He got jealous over the smallest things, it got annoying sometimes. She wished that they would trust her to take care of herself.

When she reached the classroom, she saw that Draco was having a hushed argument with Blaise, most likely of Blaise sitting next to a 'mudblood' and leaving him to sit next to Millicent. She ignored their argument as she entered the classroom.

She placed her bag atop of a table that sat four students, and like the chairs in the Great Hall, it allowed only the students from the house to sit on it. For today's class, the chairs were red and green, Gryffindor and Slytherin.

She knew why their houses were having so many classes together, in hopes to stop any interhouse prejudices. And it was the house of the snake and of the lion that was coldest to one another. She knew she would have to try and break through the ice that had formed between the two houses, and she would need the Head Boy's help. How she was going to get his help, would be another problem on its own.

There was a new Transfiguration teacher, as Professor McGonagall is the new Headmistress. The new professor was a small woman, she wore a pretty pink dress, nothing like what Professor Umbridge wore, and had an eagle perched on her forearm. She had dark brown hair and startling blue eyes, she was also alarming young, she looked no older than she was.

"Hello class. My name is Professor Merryweather. If you would please stand up, I would like to have a seating arrangement for the rest of the term." Professor Merryweather announced to the class. At the mention of a seating arrangement, the whole class groaned. The professor smiled a little sadly. "I will, however, allow you to choose, amongst the people whom are already at the table you are sitting at, your partner, they have to be of a different house than yourself of course. They would be your partner for the term."

So, one by one, each student go placed at a table, Hermione was with Draco, Theodore Nott and Parvati Patil. She was thankful that she was with someone she got along with. It would be World War Three if someone like Lavender Brown was at the same table as her. She was already sick of Lavender gawking and being so close with her boyfriend, like she was when her and Ron had dated briefly. She really couldn't stand that girl.

This class went by more smoothly, she mostly talked to Parvati, and also tried to engage both Draco and Theo in any possible conversation, they didn't seem to want to talk.

Her remainder classes, Defense Against the Dark Arts taught by Professor Lanze Hanley, Herbology, taught by Professor Sprout and her last class was Potions, taught by Professor Slughorn. She had a perfects meeting after classes, so she tried to find Draco, hoping to go over what they were to say in the meeting, she had no luck finding him.

She sighed and walked off to where the meeting was to be held, she reassured that Draco would show up sooner or later, she hoped it was the former. Not ten minutes later, she got to the meeting room and was surprised to see that Draco was there before her. He was sitting with his back towards her, facing the window that looked over the Forbidden Forest. She cleared her throat to indicate that she was in the room. Draco spun around at the sound. He gave her a curt nod as the other prefects entered the room.

She led the meeting, Draco only speaking when he needed to or when he was asked a question directly, but other than that, it was all Hermione. The meeting only took half an hour, after that, the rest left for the Great Hall, dinner was starting soon. She tidied up the meeting room a little, so ease the house-elfs work load, then exited the room. She was about to go to the hall, but she remembered that she had completely forgotten about the Defense Against the Dark Arts homework she had gotten today. The first day of school, and there is already homework. It was to be handed in tomorrow morning, rather unfair of the Professor.

She went straight to the library to get started on her homework.


	9. Kindness

New chapter's up, hope you like it :) R&R pls

(I own nothing, except the plot. )

Draco's POV

Draco wasn't as lucky as breakfast or lunch when no one had to sit with him , but as dinner was served all together, he had no choice but to share his table with other people. Sitting with him was Luna 'Loony' Lovegood, Hannah Abbot and Ginny Weasley, or as Draco called her, Weaslelette. They didn't try to engage him in any conversation, and he was grateful for that, they mostly talked amongst themselves. He had mostly zoned out of their conversation, but something the she-Weasley had said brought him back to present times.

"Have you seen Hermione during lunch, or any meal time in that case?" the she-Weasley asked Loony.

"I saw her in the morning, but she didn't eat anything. She left after she had a small argument with Ron about her eating a lot for breakfast. I don't get why, eating a good amount of food would keep her health and in turn, any unwanted creatures from entering her brain." The blonde witch replied her red headed friend in her usual dreamy tone. Draco had to give it to the witch, she may seem a tad bit off, but she does notice a whole lot of things, he would have to stay away from her in the future.

"That damn brother of mine, he's going to make her starve herself without knowing it. Excuse me, I need to have a word with my thick headed brother." She said as she got up to leave the table. But before she left, she turned to Draco, "hey Draco, could you please bring Hermione up some food for dinner please? I think she's still in the library or something. Thanks" she flashed him a tight smile before leaving. He was amazed at how civilized she acted towards him. Usually he would get a grunt and a disgusted look from her.

Hogwarts really was trying to change.

Draco finished up the food on his plate, collected some food from the table onto a plate for Granger and headed off to their common room. When he got there, she wasn't in the common room, so he went to her bedroom, thinking she would be there working. She wasn't. She must still be in the library, like Ginny had suggested. He took a look around her room, he had never seen a girls room, other than his mothers, but that didn't count.

He noticed how her walls were all so Gryffindor and her walls was just so Granger like, filled with shelves and books. He noticed she was reading the same book as he was, A Game Of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. He had to admit, she could have good taste in books when she wanted to. He decided that he had enough time to lurk in her room and retired to his room.

He decided that he wasn't tired enough to sleep just yet, so he casted a silencing charm on his room and played a few songs on the piano. It was an hour later when he went down to get a drink when he heard Hermione enter. He quickly got his cup of water and retreated back into his room. He didn't want to face the object of his latest nightmare, not now, not as long as he could manage. She said hello to him, but he just grunted in reply and quickly made his way to his room.

He then proceeded to get ready for bed. When he was all settled in his bed, he picked up the book he was currently reading and continued where he left off. He didn't know exactly when he fell asleep, but he didn't have a good night's sleep, that was for sure.

In his dreams, he saw her again, Granger, but the fire was clouding his vision. The fire seemed to be coming off him, like he was on fire. The room that they were in was in ablaze, but the fire never touched Granger. She appeared to be screaming, but no sound came from her. He could see that she was crying too, her eyes were all puffy and tears streaked her pale face. He tried to reach her, to see what was wrong with her, but the more he ran and tried to get closer to her, the further he seemed to be.

All of a sudden, he heard a booming voice, Lucius.

"Do you pity the mudblood, Draco?" his father's voice said. "Do you wish to end her suffering?"

Draco looked around to see where his father was, but there wasn't anyone else in the room except for himself and Granger.

"My son, pities the mudblood. Oh Draco, how you have gotten soft without me. How pathetic." The voice continued.

Draco tried to shut the voice from entering his head, but nothing seemed to work, he could still hear it. How it taunted him, how it seemed to make him angry and sad at the same time, how it seemed to be so like his real father. He was very aware that this was all a dream, he didn't know how, he just did. And he hated it. He wanted to wake up.

All around him, his father's voice continued to throw insults that made Draco feel like a small child getting scolded again. All the things the voice was saying was everything his father had said him once before, and that was what hurt the most.

"STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!" Draco screamed at the voice while covering his ears as he fell to the floor. Everything seemed to stop, the hateful voice, the flames, Grangers silent screaming, everything. He opened his eyes, he was back in his room, at Hogwarts. He was safe, at least for now.


	10. Torture and Connections

Thanks for all your reviews, I do appreciate all of them. Some of you asked for me to make my chapters longer, well, I hope this pleases you guys. They will get longer and longer with time, I'm still getting used to fitting writing with my schedule. One reader said that I do not need to put who's POV I am writing from, if it confuses anyone, I will put the POV's back, for now I am trying this way out. Hope you like this chapter. If there are any mistakes in any of the chapters, I will re-upload them. Thanks :) Please R&R.

After the library, she was exhausted, but at least she had completed her homework. It had taken her a couple of hours to complete and she had even triple checked her work just to be safe. As she was walking back to her common room, she caught and deducted points from a few students who were out after curfew. As she entered the common room, she saw Draco heading up to his room; she greeted him as pleasantly as she could, and got a grunt back. 'Rude as ever I see' Hermione thought to herself. she was so sleepy, she didn't even see the plate of food Draco had brought up for her.

She went straight to her room, got ready for bed and fell asleep in an instant. The dream she dreamt that night was unusually unpleasant.

She was in a burning room, but no fire was coming near her. Suddenly, overwhelming pain engulfed her entire body. She tried to cry out for help or just scream, but no sound came from her mouth. Tears formed and fell from her eyes, blurring her vision, but she could still make out what seemed to be another person. She tried to call out to him, but again, she couldn't form any words. She felt as though sulphuric acid ran through her veins and like her body was burning from the inside out. She had never experienced pain that intense before, not even when Bellatrix Lestrange tortured her with the Cruciatus Curse and carved that filthy word into her skin.

Hermione was terrified, she couldn't speak, she couldn't hear and she could barely see. She felt like that dream had gone on for hours before she had finally woken up. She was sweaty and her eyes were puffy from crying. She has never had a nightmare as realistic as the one she just had, she felt as though her body was still burning. She thought nothing of her body temperature, 'it must be from the sweating,' she thought.

She brushed the dream off, got a glass of water, then fell back asleep. But her sleep was short lived. She awoke a few hours later, but it was odd, the sun was already up. She checked the time, it was already 7.30! Classes started at 7.50, she was so late!

She took a quick shower and put her hair in a simple side braid, or something that resembled a side braid. She then changed into her old school uniform, the one where it was longer and looser than the one she wore nowadays. She couldn't think of how Ron was going to respond to the way she looked today, 'negatively' she thought. She was out of the door within ten minutes.

Hermione skipped breakfast and went straight to Ancient Runes, she would never forgive herself if she was ever late to a class. She had arrived with two minutes to spare, and sat right in front of the class as always. The professor arrived shortly after herself.

She was confused as to why she wasn't able to wake up as usual this morning, she chalked it down to the odd nightmare she had last night, it must've been more mentally exhausting than she thought. She tired her hardest to pay attention in class, but her mind kept wandering, who was in the dream with her? She knew the person was tall, that much she could make out, and that they had short, pale hair. She then proceeded to list down all the people she knew who had short, pale hair and were tall. The amount of people she knew that fit that description was astonishing.

Apart from her muggle friends back home, there were quite a few people Hermione knew that fit the description. She was going to have to remember more if she wanted to narrow the people down further.

When she finally reconnected with reality, the class had ended. She was shocked, she had spent the entire class day dreaming, something she had never done before, Harry and Ron maybe, but never her.

She walked out of the classroom in a daze, what was wrong with her today? She wasn't waking up on time, she was almost late to class and she hadn't paid any attention in said class. She could only hope this was an abnormal day for her, and that all would be right tomorrow. She was so fixated on mentally checking down all the things she was going to do to ensure she woke up on time the next day, that she hadn't realise where she was going and she walked right into Blaise Zabini.

"Woah there Granger, you'd better watch where you're going. A few more times and people are going to start thinking you are doing it on purpose." He tried to flirt her.

"Huh? Oh, hello Blaise. What are you talking about?" Hermione responded, her mind was still going over her mental checklist.

"You okay Granger? You seem a bit off today. Normally you'd hit me for flirting with you and say you have a boyfriend, then ignore me for the rest of the day."

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just a little preoccupied." She tried to wave him off as she headed towards the library for her free period. She was going to have to revise whatever Professor Babbling had taught in class. She then panicked, what if she had assigned them homework that Hermione didn't catch? She then spun on her heels and started off towards the classroom she had just left.

"Where are you going Granger? Didn't you just come from that direction?" Blaise enquired.

"I'm just going back to ask if we got any homework I didn't catch, that's all. Don't you have class how? Care of Magical Creatures, am I right?" she asked him, trying to get rid of him.

"Yeah, but who cares? I already know all there is to know about taking care of any magical creature." Blaise brushed off her question. "But why are YOU, Hermione Granger, going back to a class to see if she had missed any homework. Shouldn't you have all the words the professor said in the class memorised? Or am I talking to an imposter?"

"I told you, I was preoccupied. I might have missed a few things the professor said. And I do not memorise everything the professor says in class. I just remember what I need to in order to get good grades. And I think it best you be on your way to class now Blaise. I am still Head Girl, and friend or not, I will deduct points from your house if you don't get to class right away."

"Fine, you win this round Granger, but I will get to the bottom of this." He said as he went off to class.

When she got to the classroom, Professor Babbling was sitting at her desk, waiting for her next class to arrive.

"Hermione dear, why are you back here? Did you leaving something behind?" the professor asked her when she entered the classroom.

"Oh no professor, I just came back to ask if you had assigned any homework that I may have missed in class." Hermione replied the elderly professor in a kind voice. She liked the professor, she had saved her from a sneaky vampire during the Battle of Hogwarts.

"I didn't assign any homework in class, I just asked the class to read chapters one through three by the next class. Are you quite all right dear? You never have problems with remembering assignments."

"I'm fine professor, thank you for your time." And with that, she departed the classroom and headed towards the library to get started on the reading assignment before her next class. She had finished her reading assignment within half an hour. Her remaining time was spent either reading some of the muggle books that she had brought from home or doing the next classes homework.

After her free period, she packed up her things and headed off to her Arithmancy class on the fourth floor. On the way to the class, she saw Draco and Blaise who were on their way to class as well. She tried to walk faster, in hopes they wouldn't see her. It wasn't that she didn't like them, she liked Blaise enough for her to call him her friend, but Draco was a different story. He hasn't spoken to her ever since the first day of school. And whenever she had tried to engage in conversation with him, she would only get a grunt or something similar in response. She really didn't want to push her luck with Draco, he might snap and go back to being how he used to be, he had improved, not much, but it was still an improvement.

She had hoped that Draco could set aside their past and work together civilly, but he had not shown any indication that he wanted to work together at all.

"Hermione!" Blaise called after her, she wasn't quick enough to escape him.

"Blaise, hello again. Did you get to your class in time?" Hermione said as she turned around and faked a smile. She seemed to be faking smiles a lot lately, and she had a feeling she would have to fake a lot more in the near future.

"Yes, yes I did. And it would please you to know, I gave Hagrid my undivided attention." He replied her while flashing his pearly whites. He seemed to be proud of himself for doing something she usually does in class. 'It is an improvement for Blaise.' She thought to herself.

"Well, good for you. I hope you continue this behaviour in all your classes." She was trying to be as professional as she could, seeing as Draco was with them. She said what she thought a head girl would say. "We best be off to class now. I do not want to get in trouble for being late." And with that, she and the two boys walked in silence.


	11. An Opportune Occurrence

**This chapter is the longest one I've ever written, if anyone has a problem with long chapters, I'm sorry. Please R&R. :)**

He had thought it weird that Granger had not eaten the food he had brought up for her last night, he chalked it to her not seeing it or her being too tired to eat. He was also surprised that she was not at breakfast that morning either. 'She must've gotten to the hall before me.' He thought.

Draco had gotten to the hall quite late, it was 7.20 when he had arrived, she might have left before he had even arrived. He was also wondering why he was so concerned with Granger lately.

He had a free period before Care of Magical Creatures, Blaise had somehow convinced him to take up the class with him, and he had somehow managed to get into the class. Draco had no interest in Magical Creatures, or how to take care of them, that was what the House-elves and the servants were for. He had just taken up the class to entertain his best friend and to make fun of Hagrid, who was still teaching the class.

He spent his free period with Blaise in the Slytherin common room, talking and playing multiple games of exploding snap. They mostly talked about the classes they were taking this year, the girls they thought were hot and the devious plans they had for the other students.

"What do you think of Granger?" Blaise asked again out of the blue.

"Granger? Didn't you ask me a similar question yesterday? What made you think my opinion of her would change overnight?" Draco said as nonchalantly as he could. But every time Draco would try to downplay whatever was going through his head, Blaise somehow saw right through it every time. It was pretty unnerving for someone to know you so well, that they can see right through any lie or mask you try to put on, and Blaise was that person for Draco.

"A lot can happen in a night, remember the Yule Ball?"

"Of course I do." That was the night he thought Granger could look decent and not like a trolls up-chuck, like she usually had. When he saw the Weasel make Granger cry, he, for one reason or another, hated him even more.

He was curious as to why Blaise was asking so many questions regarding Granger lately. He had just found out that his best mate and her were apparently friends. He knew Blaise had something planned for him, and it somehow involved Granger as well. He didn't know if her involvement was good or bad, but Draco didn't like it one bit.

The clock in the common room went off, it marked the ending of a class and the starting of another. They had ten minutes to get to their class. Blaise and himself packed up their things and headed off to Hagrids hut. As they walked towards the hut, Granger walked right into Blaise. She seemed to be off, kind of like how Loony usually is. But it was unusual for Granger to seem off. He still didn't want to face her, so he went on ahead without her noticing he was there. He waited for Blaise to finish talking to Granger near the end of the hallway. He still found it weird that the two were friends.

Blaise showed up around ten minutes later, with an odd expression on his face, it was a mix of intrigue, confusion, determination and plain excitement. He had no idea what he and Granger had talked about to induce such a reaction. Draco had a feeling that whatever Blaise had planned for him and Granger was not going to end soon; it would only end when Blaise is satisfied with the results. He groaned inwardly wondering how long this little plan of his was going to last this time. The last plan Blaise had lasted a good six months, and that was to find the entrance to the kitchens in Hogwarts, he had eventually found it, when he had constantly harassed a Hufflepuff girl to tell him where the entrance was.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Draco asked when he saw the look on Blaises face, he was grinning right at him! Whenever Blaise grinned at someone, it meant things were going according to plan for him, and it usually resulted in something he wants to happen. It usually meant bad news for whoever was on the receiving end of the grin, and now Draco was getting one of his infamous grins.

"No reason." Blaise replied him, as flashed Draco a wide smile, hoping it looked innocent enough, and continued on as though nothing had happened. Then it started, the whistling. That was never a good sign. Blaise whistled when he was in a really good mood. Draco had no idea what put him in such a mood, it must have something to do with Granger.

"Why are you whistling?" Draco asked nervously. He hoped asking him straight to his face would result in an acceptable answer.

"Oh nothing much, it's just such a beautiful day. Isn't it a beautiful day Draco?"

'Goddamn this boy.' Draco thought to himself. He wasn't going to get any answers this way, he was going to have to do it Slytherin style.

"Ah, a very beautiful day indeed. The sky is grey and it looks as though it is about to pour down on us. I fear what your wife would look like if you think this is a beautiful day." Draco replied him sarcastically.

"Ah, but that way, I'll know that you'll never go for my wife." Blaise winked at him and quickened his pace. Draco had to quicken his too, Blaise was taller than him after all, and Draco was already 6 feet tall, Blaise was around 6 foot 6 inches. They arrived at the hut not much later.

All throughout class that day, Draco couldn't help but wonder what Blaise had planned for him. Draco had guessed that whatever Blaise had planned was for him, as Blaise would usually ask Draco for help. And as Blaise was not asking or telling Draco his plan, it could only mean it involved Draco, whether he wanted to or not. He was thinking of ways to figure out Blaise's plan, that he had not heard a single thing Hagrid had said throughout the class.

"Earth to Draco." Was what brought him back to reality. When his vision refocused, he saw Blaise waving his hand in front of his face. Draco slapped his hands away as soon as he saw it.

"What?"

"You seemed to be day dreaming or something. Well, I know for a fact that you paid no attention in class today. I was watching you."

"How would you know that? And that sounds creepy dude, never say that to anyone else, ever again."

"Because all throughout class, you were quiet. And what's wrong with watching people? I find people fascinating, don't you? The way they act, talk and are in general."

"Maybe I was paying extra attention. God knows how much I have to concentrate to understand a single thing that oaf says. And no, I find people annoying and try to spend as little time and contact with them as I possibly can."

"Well, the Draco I know would have said that during class, not after. Also, you wouldn't be bothered to pay attention in class, you'd just start talking or trying to flirt with the closet thing that could breathe. Oh wait, that's me, my bad. And what about me? I'm a person, and you like spending time with me right?" Blaise said that last sentence with a grin and nudged with his elbow.

They were making their way to their next class, Arithmancy, when Blaise caught sight of Granger and called out after her. 'How does he see her?' Draco thought to himself. He didn't see her, she was so short, no more than 5 feet 3 inches. She was practically hidden by the amount of people moving about.

Blaise and Hermione than launched into a conversation, that Hermione obviously didn't want to be a part of. He didn't say anything the whole time, he didn't even look at her. He could tell that she was trying to play the part of head girl as best as she could by saying all the things that is expected of a head girl. When she had suggested they get to class, Draco relaxed, at least there won't be any more unwanted conversation for the all of them. The three then made their way to their classroom in silence. Draco walked behind Granger, watching her. He didn't know why he did, but he felt like he just had to.

Draco had actually paid attention in this class; he knew if he didn't, he would not pass this class. The professor let the class out five minutes early for lunch, he was starving. But for some reason, Granger didn't go to the Great Hall like everyone else did, she went to the library. He told Blaise to go to the Great Hall without him and started to follow her.

He was careful, he made sure she wouldn't see him. He always kept at least twenty feet away from her and hid whenever she turned around. He thought she would be more vigilant, seeing as she was a war heroine and all.

When she arrived at the library, she went straight to a back corner and she set her bag down onto a table that was hidden. It was blocked by a number of shelves and the sheer size of the library made the table almost impossible to find. He guessed this was her favourite spot, as no one would be able to bother her here. Draco himself would like this spot too, god knows that he liked to be alone.

Granger then disappeared into the maze of shelves. He had to follow her closely, or he would lose her. She navigated her way through the shelves like she knew every inch of the library, she most likely did, but as the library was just rebuilt, he thought she would have a bit of trouble finding her way through it. But no, she was perfectly fine.

Draco had noticed that ever since he and Blaise had met Granger before Arithmancy, she swayed slightly every time she walked. And now, every step she took, the sway was more noticeable. It looked like every step, took a lot of energy from her.

A thought then occurred to him, she hadn't eaten breakfast, lunch or dinner yesterday, and she wasn't at breakfast this morning, and now she was skipping lunch. She most likely hadn't had anything to eat since, who knows when?

He couldn't have come to that conclusion at any better time. Just as Hermione was about to head down another row of shelves, she lost her balance; her ankle rolled and fell to the ground. Draco rushed forward and caught her just before her head could hit the ground. When he looked down on her, she was passed out. She even looked paler, even though she had gotten pretty tan over the summer. When he picked her up, he didn't find it surprising that she would be easy to carry, what surprised him was how light she actually was. She must have weighed no more than forty kilos, and for someone her height, she was severely underweight.

He was thankful that there was no one in the hallways, as everyone was having lunch. He felt his own stomach grumble, and quickened his pace. When he got to the hospital wing, he opened the door with such force, that the doors banged open and slammed shut behind him. Madam Pomfrey rushed out with an angry look on her face, but it quickly changed into a look of concern when she saw Hermione passed out in his arms.

"Oh my, Draco, what happened to Miss Granger?" Madam Pomfrey inquired as she instructed Draco to place Hermione in an empty bed.

"I don't know for sure, but I think she passed out from not eating enough. I don't think she has eaten anything in the past two days." Draco informed her. he watched as Madam Pomfrey started to run tests on her. Granger stayed still and unresponsive to any tests that Madam Pomfrey had performed. Draco was starting to get worried.

"You should get something to eat and focus on your classes. I will inform you if there is any change in her condition. But for now, the best I can do is give her a muggle IV drop to get some food in her and keep her hydrated. I think she just fainted from low blood sugar levels, nothing to be worried about. Now off you go, pip pip." Was the matrons last words before she ushered him out of her hospital wing.

Draco quickly made his way down to the Great Hall, where lunch was about to be over. He sat down next to Blaise and grabbed a plateful of a creamy pasta.

"Where have you been Drake? Lunch is almost over, we've got Defence next." Blaise asked as he started into his plate.

"Granger fainted. Took her to the hospital wing." was all Draco could get out between bites. Blaise just stared at him, the look on his face said he wanted to know more. "Long story. I'll tell you later. Now, leave me alone, I'm hungry."


	12. Mommy?

**Hey, the next chapter is up :) I may not post new chapters until after my birthday, which is this Sunday, but I will try my hardest to post one more before the year is up. Please R&R.**

The last thing Hermione could remember was going to the library after her Arithmancy class and looking for the book she had used to do her Defence Against the Dark Arts homework for some last minute checking. The next thing she remembered was someone catching her and darkness all around her.

Hermione woke up in the middle of the night wondering why she was in the hospital wing. Her bed was hidden behind a white curtain, 'it must be night time', she thought. When she tried to stand up, the room spun and her head was pounding, then immediately sat back down. She noticed someone had brought her schoolbag from the library. 'How nice' she thought.

As Madam Pomfrey walked past her bed, doing some late night check-ups, Hermione called out to her. She popped her head through the curtains and smiled kindly at Hermione.

"Ah, you're finally awake dear. How are you feeling?" the matron asked her in a kind voice while she performed some tests on Hermione.

"I feel a bit dizzy and I have a splitting headache. And Madam Pomfrey, how did I get here?" she asked.

"Well, you fainted this afternoon, around lunch time, when you were at the library. Draco Malfoy brought you here and said you haven't been eating. Is this true?" Madam Pomfrey asked with a raised eyebrow. Hermione couldn't lie to her; she might already know the answer.

"I haven't eaten much since yesterday. Wait, did you say Draco Malfoy?" Hermione asked. She thought it strange that the boy, who had been ignoring her, would help her. She thought it even stranger that he knew where she was, the place she went isn't usually trafficked by many students. That meant that she was either being followed by Draco, or she was just very lucky he was there at the time.

"Yes I did, he even brought up all your belongings from the library. That boy certainly has changed." She added as an afterthought. "But back to business, Hermione, I do not want you to fall back into your old habits. Not eating, always studying, it's not healthy I'm sure you know. Now, I want you to eat this." She handed Hermione a plate that had a piece of bread and a small piece of chicken on it. "I don't want you to skip anymore meals Miss Granger, is that clear? I shall not be seeing you in here for any more incidents related to this one, am I right?" she said firmly. Hermione nodded in response. "Now, when you're done, get back to sleep, you need your rest. I will notify your teachers saying you won't be in any of your classes tomorrow."

She tried to protest, saying she needed to study for her NEWTs, but the look on Madam Pomfrey's face stopped her. Hermione quickly ate up the food and fell back asleep. Madam Pomfrey had given her a dreamless sleep as well. She drank the potion, in hopes it would stop any nightmares from entering her dreams. The potion didn't help at all.

Hermione was lying in the middle of what looked like the living room of a large house, it was dusty, dirty and broken. The mansion looked so old and unstable; she thought it would collapse if a breeze were to blow in its direction. Hermione stood up and dusted herself off while she looked around, she had never been in this house before. There was a grand staircase right behind her, and at the top of it, she saw someone standing there. She wasn't sure if it was a man or a woman, whoever it was, they had their hood up and their figure was covered in a floor length travelling cloak.

"Hello? Can you please tell me where I am?" Hermione called out to the person at the top of the stairs. She didn't get a response, the figure just turned and walked away. "Hey!" she called after the figure. She ran up the stairs, and when she reached the second floor, the figure was gone. Instead she saw a painting. It was of a girl, with long pale blonde hair and big brown eyes, much like her own. There was a small piece of wood at the bottom of the painting., it read 'Cassidy Malfoy-Granger, age 10'. Malfoy-Granger? What did that mean? Was this her kid? Was this her kid, with Malfoy?

"Mommy?" A small girls voice called from a room, but she did not know which one. She moved towards the direction of the voice.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" she called out. She expected no response, but got one.

"Mommy, are you there? Come and get me, mommy." The same voice said. It sounded so innocent and scared, Hermione felt like she had to help her.

Hermione was thoroughly confused. She was only nineteen, and she was a mother to a ten year old girl? Or maybe this kid is just confused, and someone is just playing a prank on her. She opened a door, and behind it was the little girl in the painting, the same pale hair, same brown eyes. The little girl saw Hermione and smiled. Hermione started to move towards the little girl, but something told her to stay where she was.

"What's wrong mommy? Are you scared of me? Don't you love me anymore?" the little girl looked up to Hermione, her big brown eyes full of sadness.

"I just don't know you. Who are you?" Hermione asked, in as kind a voice as she could manage.

"Don't you remember me mommy? I'm your Cassi. Don't you remember me?" the little girl asked, she started to back away from Hermione. "Why don't you remember me mommy? Now the bad man is going to take me away. He is already here. Save me mommy. Please."

The look the little girl gave her sent chills up her spine. Suddenly, the temperature in the room dropped and the air got heavier. She felt as though someone was watching her. But when she turned around, there wasn't anyone there. She was alone in the room, Cassidy had disappeared.

"Cassidy? Where are you?" she spun on her heels, looking for the blonde girl.

"Why don't you remember me mommy? Now the bad man is taking me away. Why don't you remember me mommy? Now I cannot stay." The rhyme sent Goosebumps throughout Hermione's body.

Hermione made her way out of the room and that was when she saw her. Cassidy was being carried by what looked like the figure she had previously seen. She ran after her, she may not know who the girl was, but she felt compelled to save her. 'Something bad may happen to her if she isn't saved' were Hermione's thoughts.

Hermione reached the little girl just before the figure could get out the door. When she grabbed Cassidy's hand, the figure stopped moving, the figure had stopped doing anything. When Cassidy looked up, her eyes were those of a demons, they were pitch black with no white in them at all. Hermione let go of Cassidy's hand and started to move backwards.

"What's the matter mommy? Don't you know who I am? You did this mommy. You and daddy." Cassidy got out of the strangers hands and lunged forward and tackled Hermione onto the ground.

She could feel Cassidy scratching her arms and face with her little hands, she could feel her small hands on her throat when she was strangling her. She was getting strangled, by a kid, possibly her own child. How ironic, she had fought Death Eaters, giants and other foul creatures, and her downfall was by a little girl. That was Hermione's last thought before she woke up.

Hermione woke up gasping for air. She felt as though the air was filled with lead and her lungs were broken. Every breath she took was a struggle. Once she realized where she was, she calmed down, and breathing became easier once again. The room around her was bright, it was maybe ten o'clock? She started to get out of bed, but Madam Pomfrey came over and pushed her back down into bed.

"Not quite yet, I still have to do more tests and make sure you won't go around fainting." She begun by making Hermione drink a god awful potion that turned your tongue blue if she was sick and pink if the person was in prefect health, the potion turned her tongue pink. The other tests were more physical, she was made to walk in a straight line, twice, run a few paces, walk backwards and even do the chicken dance for hand-eye-coordination or something along those lines. When she was deemed healthy and fit enough to be released, Madam Pomfrey let her leave, but was told to come back if she still felt dizzy.

The first place Hermione went after the hospital wing was obviously, the library. She needed to catch up on whatever she was missing in class today. She picked out a few books on potions and transfiguration, as they were the only classes she had on Wednesdays. She went straight to her favourite spot and begun to read and take notes.

Hours passed, and the next thing Hermione knew, it was dinner time already. She returned the books to where she had gotten them and proceeded to make her way down to the Great Hall. The hall was packed with students, almost all the tables were full. She made her way around the back to try to find a table with the Gryffindor seat unoccupied. She finally found a table, after five minutes of looking. There was only one person seated at the table, Draco Malfoy.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked him. He gave her no response, she took that as a 'no'. "I wanted to thank you for bringing me to the hospital wing yesterday, I haven't noticed how weak I was getting from not eating."

"Uh, no problem." She was shocked she had gotten a reply from him, she thought he would continue to ignore her.

"Urm, did we get any homework in class today?" she tried to keep the conversation going, she wanted to break the ice with him, even if it was using a topic as lame as homework, hell, she'd even ask about the weather if she had to.

"Yeah, I guessed you'd want to know the homework, I wrote it down for you. Here." he handed her a piece of parchment that had all the homework, reading assignments and their due date written on it. "Aren't you going to eat?" he asked, nodding to her untouched plate.

"Oh yeah, thank you." Was the last thing she said before she tucked into her food. She felt like it was a dream; Draco was talking to her like everyone else did. He actually noticed if she was eating or not, Ron hadn't, and if he did, he sure didn't say anything to her about it, or confront her. 'Maybe he's just toying with you, making you think he's changed and good now, then he's going to play you like a puppet.' Hermione pushed that thought away, she wanted to see the good in people, not the bad, not anymore. She had been doing that her entire life, and maybe, people really can change.

After twenty minutes of awkward conversation between her and Draco, McGonagall gave a short speech, reminding the students about the safety precautions they must all take to ensure no unwanted guests make their way into the school grounds. Despite the Dark Lords fall, there were still Death Eaters who were loyal to him, and they wanted revenge for their dead master. Harry, Ron and herself had to be especially vigilant, at all times, even in Hogwarts. After McGonagall had dismissed them, Hermione and Draco went back to their common rooms, they had a bit of time before their prefect duties started, it was their night to do rounds.

'What's the worst that can happen tonight anyway?' Hermione thought to herself before she and Draco headed out the portrait hole to start on their rounds.


	13. True Love To Be

**Sorry for the really late update. Here's the new chapter, it's a little longer and they're going to get longer and longer as the story unfolds, I hope you're okay with it. Please R&R.**

After dinner, they headed back to their common room to relax for a while before their duties started. On the way back to their common room, Granger was still trying to converse with Draco. He didn't know why, but he appreciated the fact that she was trying to befriend him, even after all their history, especially the bad ones. After around thirty minutes, they headed out the portrait hole.

"So, what do you plan on doing after Hogwarts?" She asked him awkwardly. He could tell she was cold, her hands were shaking and her face was slightly blushed from the chill.

"Well, I plan to continue the family business, which is basically a bit of everything really. Are you cold? You seem cold."

"Yeah, I guess it is a bit chilly tonight." Draco took his jacket off and hung it around her shoulders. "Thanks. Are you sure you won't need it?"

"I'm good. You seem to need it more than I do anyway." Draco was trying to be a gentleman. He wondered what she thought of him. "What do you plan on doing after Hogwarts?"

"Well, I plan to work for the ministry. I want to improve the working conditions for all magical creatures, especially house elves. I think they deserve more than they are given. People may think I'm crazy, but I think everyone should be treated equally." She said confidently.

Draco didn't reply her, he didn't know how. He himself had five house elves working for him, so he just nodded in agreement. Their night continued on pretty normally. They caught a few students lurking in the corridors and they deducted points off their corresponding houses. They continued to make light conversation all throughout their shift. When their work was done, they returned to their common room and completed whatever homework they had due. They were civil to one another the entire night, Draco could not remember the last time he had a civil conversation that lasted more than a minute with anyone from out of Slytherin house. Draco retired to his room before Hermione did; she stayed up to check her work a few more times. He bid her goodnight and went off.

His nightmares had gotten progressively worse as the days went by, they started to get creepier and creepier as well.

Tonight, he was in, what looked to him like an old abandoned mansion. He had woken up on a bed in one of the rooms; the room was big and had a thick layer of dust on everything, including him. He brushed the dust off his clothing and proceeded to look around the house. It looked oddly familiar to him, like he had been here before, but he couldn't remember anything at the moment. Suddenly, there was crying, a little girls crying. What would a little kid be doing here? He walked towards the crying, thinking it was a bad idea, but continued to walk anyway.

"Is anyone here?" he asked to no one in particular. The crying stopped. He heard footsteps and laughter behind him. He spun on his heels, but saw no one. 'This place is so haunted. I'm getting out of here.' He thought to himself as he ran for the front door. But before he could reach it, at the foot of the steps, a little girl, in a white gown was standing there. She had pale blonde hair and large brown eyes, but in the darkness, it looked black.

"Daddy! You're home." She said as she ran up the stairs and hugged him.

Not knowing what else to do, Draco hugged her back. 'I have a kid?' he thought to himself. This wasn't possible, he was only eighteen, this kid looked like she was at least ten years old. 'This is one messed up nightmare.'

"Hey, where is your mommy and daddy?" he kneeled down and asked the girl.

"Oh daddy, you're silly. You're my daddy of course. But I don't know where mommy went. She went away and never came back." the girl said with sadness in her eyes. She looked like she was on the verge of tears, when a hooded figure appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the little girl. She was screaming for help and flailing her arms wildly. Draco tried to save the little girl, but the figure somehow hit him behind the head and disappeared in a mist of black smoke, along with the girl.

"What the hell?" were the last words he said as his vision faded to black.

When he awoke the next morning, he noticed his pillow had blood stains on it and he had a killer migraine, it had to somehow be connected with the dream he had last night. This was getting weirder and weirder, worse of all, he couldn't tell anyone or they would start to think he was going mad. Ignoring the pain in his head, Draco got ready for the classes he had that day.

After he told Blaise what happened to Granger, word spread pretty fast about her little incident. He knew Blaise didn't tell anyone, she was his friend after all, and if he knew Blaise, he knew that he would never betray his friends. So, someone had obviously overheard them talking about her. Damn the eavesdroppers and the bloody speed gossip moves about in Hogwarts. He had heard a few of the rumours about what happened to Granger, some were absurd and stupid. A few included eating disorders and how she just wanted attention or something along those lines. He was pissed off to say the least. Granger had enough to worry about as it is. He didn't know why he was feeling so worried for her, she was obviously not worrying about herself, she was more worried about her homework and the exams then her health and wellbeing.

"Hey, stop worrying. I hate it when you worry, your face gets all scrunched up and you look like the Grinch, except you're not green." Blaise teased him.

"I do not look like the Grinch, thank you very much. And what made you think I was worried? And even if I was, what would I be worried about?" he did not know what a Grinch was, but it didn't sound good. He tried to play his true emotions off, but Blaise knew better, as always.

"Hmm, let me think. Oh, I don't know, maybe a certain bushy haired girl with brown eyes and has the title of head girl and lives with you. Maybe that's who you're worried about?" Draco shot Blaise a look so cold that it could freeze water. But Blaise just laughed it off.

"Why in the world would I be worried about Granger?" he asked.

"I was about to ask you the exact same question. And you never told me how you knew Granger fainted, and where she was when she did. What were you doing in the library anyway?" Oh no. These were the exact questions he hoped Blaise would not ask him. He would have to explain to him why he followed her to the library, and he really didn't want to get into that topic right now, not ever.

"Uh, oh look, it's Pansy and Theo." Draco could never imagine a time he was happier to see that girl. Pansy was like a sister to him, despite the history they had together. He was happy she was with Theo, they seemed to balance each other out. He was a quiet and grounded guy, while Pansy was loud and seemed to want the entire world, Theo made her reasonable while Pansy made him participate in things more.

"Hey guys. What are my second and third favourite boys doing here?" she greeted them as she slung her hands over both of the boy's shoulders. Theo just gave them a curt nod, well, it was an improvement.

"Oh nothing, just asking Drake here why he's so caught up with our head girl. Watch out Panse, he may be in love." Blaise winked at her.

"OH MY GOD! Draco Lucius Malfoy! I am so happy for you." She said as she pulled him into a bear hug. Draco was both thoroughly confused at Pansy's gesture and extremely mad at Blaise for spouting lies. He thought that, even the thought of any pureblood and a muggleborn being together made Pansy's blood curdle. But Pansy seemed to be genuinely happy for him, for no apparent reason as he was not in love with her.

"Uh, Pansy, you know that Blaise is just shitting around right? I am not worried about her and I sure as hell am not in love with her. I barely know her, apart from the fact that she is a workaholic, a perfectionist and that she doesn't seem to care about herself. And I thought you didn't like her." he said, trying to get out of her bear hug. He failed. She was still hugging him. When he was finally released, he could see the huge grin on both her and Blaises faces. It was weird to say the least.

"Oh now Draco, that was a long time ago, things have changed, we all have. If Hermione is the one you want to be with, I will support you. And just because you don't know her all that well now, doesn't mean that you can't get to know her more right? Also, you seem to care for her." She said wisely. Funny, he would never have used the word 'wise' to describe Pansy, but, here she was now, being wise and supportive of something Blaise made up.

"What in Merlin's beard made you think I care for her? You know that Blaise made this whole thing up right?"

"The way you notice things about her, and especially in the short amount of time you've known her. It's adorable. Seeing one of my best friends like a girl so much, he doesn't even know it yet." She said, and pulled him into another one of her bear hugs. He thought he heard a sniffle, but it could just be his imagination. "Well, we have to get to the library to finish some homework. I'll see you both later."

"Well, let's get to class before the professor takes points from us." He said to Blaise. They headed off to their Arithmancy class that was in the opposite side of the castle. When they had gotten to the classroom, most students were already there, and one particular student with brown bushy hair caught Draco's eye.

Granger was sitting in the front of the classroom like always, but this time, she kept looking back. He looked around the back of the classroom and noticed that people were whispering and pointing towards her, and she obviously knew. Draco sympathised with her. She was going through something he had, people talking behind your back, and not even try to hide it. He had a few encounters after the war that scarred him, both figuratively and literally.

He walked to the front of the classroom, giving anyone who was gossiping about her a dirty look that immediately made them stop talking all together, and sat next to her. This gesture surprised many people, Draco himself included. He did not know what he was doing, but it felt right, helping someone when they seemed to need it most. If only someone was there when he needed someone most.

"Malfoy, hello. What are you doing? Sitting next to me I mean. Not that there's anything wrong with it, I just thought you wouldn't want to sit in the front, or with me." She said as she noticed Draco next to her. She had a large book in front of her, trying to read while the room kept whispering lies behind her back, the book was obviously not a good distraction.

"I just want to hear what the professor is saying. Professor Silverstein speaks in a whisper if you haven't already noticed, and I need to hear what she says or I'll never pass this class." He said, trying to keep his voice clam. In truth, his heart was beating so quickly in his chest, he thought it was going to explode, 'It must be from doing something good, I'm never doing something like this ever again' he thought to himself as he tried to calm his racing heart.

Throughout class, Draco constantly looked over to his right to see how the girl was doing, he still didn't know why he cared so much about her, and it was getting annoying. Granger appeared to be fully immersed in whatever Professor Silverstein was saying, which was good; at least she isn't paying attention to the stares they were getting. It must be how he glared at the other students before class had started that caused them to stare now. This act was definitely going to spark some rumours.

After class, Blaise caught up to him with a huge grin on his face.

"Not in love eh Draco?" he said as he wiggled his eyebrows at Draco.

"No, not in love. I just wanted to catch everything Silverstein was saying." He brushed it off. Blaise could be persistent with his badgering, it was annoying to say the least. As they made their way to their next class, they bumped into Astoria, Draco's bethroved. He had never knew who he was to marry, only that it was already arranged, and when his father was out of the picture, his mother had told him who his future wife was to be. Things were tense between the two of them. They haven't talked much, Draco barely knew anything about her besides that her name was Astoria Greengrass, she was a pureblood and she was apparently very nice. 'It could be worse' he thought to himself.

"Astoria, how lovely to see you on this fine day." Blaise greeted her. She gave him a gentle smile in response, she wasn't a very open person per say. She was one of the few quiet Slytherins, much like Theo.

"Oh hello Blaise, Draco, I'm doing just fine. I'm sorry, but I have class now, see you two around." She said quickly and left. She didn't talk much around anyone, especially around Draco.

"What? You should get to know the woman you're going to marry at least." Blaise said, he knew Blaise was against arranged marriages, but he reasoned that Astoria was one of the better matches his parents could've made.

"I know, it's just weird, seeing the person I am to spend the rest of my life with here. I always thought my parents would pick someone from out of London or at least someone from out of this school."

"Well, now that you know your future wife is in this school, I would suggest that you get to know her a little better. All you two say to each other is a passing hello and nothing else. If you really don't want to marry her, the least you can do for the girl is to befriend her." he reasoned. Blaise had a soft heart, everyone knew that. He tried to keep a playboy like reputation, but under it all, he was as soft as a marshmellow, he loved the idea of soulmates and true love.

True love, it was all Draco wanted as well, he just didn't know it yet.


	14. Whispers and Ruin

**Here's the new chapter :) This is longest chapter I've written so far, if you want the chapters to be longer, please tell me :) R&R pls **

When Draco had sat next to her during Arithmancy class, needless to say, she was shocked; it was a very un-Draco thing to do. But it didn't mean she wasn't grateful, she was, he had made all the whispering behind her back stop, at least during that class, she just wondered why he did it. Although, after class, the staring and whispering grew. There were more people who stared and whispered at and about her, and they didn't even try to hide it.

The whole situation was making Hermione uncomfortable and extremely self-conscious. 'It would die down in a few days,' she told herself. That was the way Hogwarts worked, a rumour or scandal would rise to the surface, and everyone would talk about it non-stop for a few days and after those few days, it would be like whatever the buzz was about, never even existed.

Hermione was sitting at her normal place in the library one afternoon when she had a free period, when out of the corner of her eye, she noticed someone walking towards her table. It was unusual because most students never came this deep into the library, and in her seven years of sitting at this table, she has never seen anyone else here. The person walking towards her was none other than Draco Malfoy. She could tell by the way he smelled, like spearmint and expensive cologne.

"Malfoy, what brings you to this part of the library? But more importantly, how did you find this place?" she said when he had sat down across her at her table, never looking up from her homework.

"Well, you see Granger, I happen to need your help. And I know of this place because this was around where I found you unconscious." He replied her as he took out books and a piece of parchment from his bag pack. "I was wondering if you could help me with this Arithmancy homework. Even if I sat in the front of the class, I couldn't pick up everything Silverstein was saying. I was hoping you heard what she was mumbling."

"Well, I'm about done with my homework. I could help explain whatever you need help with." This was new, a Malfoy asking her for help. She thought they were too proud to ask for help from her kind, muggleborns. But she help him anyway, he was asking her nicely. So she looked over his homework and explained what he needed to do in order to complete the question, like how she would normally do with Harry and Ron. After twenty minutes, Draco had completed his homework and they returned to their common room together, making simple conversation along the way. Things between them had become less awkward and tense; it was nice to have a normal conversation with him. He was obviously very intelligent and he had quite a lot in common with Hermione. They both loved books, music and had a weird fear of clowns. The last one came as a shock to the both of them. While Hermione had feared them since she was a little girl, Draco's fear of clowns was quite recent. It had started when he had gone into muggle London to do some errands for his mother, he had run into a clown and ever since then he has had a fear of them, he would not explain what happened between him and the clown to cause this fear.

When they had gotten back to their common room, they were shocked to find it had been torn apart. The couches were on their sides, their tables were ransacked and when they went up to check their rooms, they both had too been ravaged.

"Wait here, I'll get McGonagall and the teachers." Draco called as he exited the portrait hole. Hermione was left alone in their destroyed common room. While waiting for the teachers to arrive, she started to straighten her room out, she picked up the books that had fallen from their shelves, and my, there were a lot of books that were littered across her floor. There were easily a couple hundred books in her room alone, and she had read them all.

As she was picking up her favourite copy of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, she heard a rustling downstairs in the common room. Thinking it was Draco with the teachers, Hermione exited her room. But at the foot of the stairs, there was someone standing there; it looked a lot like the hooded figure from her nightmares. Hermione took out her wand from her back pocket and pointed it at the figure. She slowly backed back into her room, when she slammed the door shut, she casted a quick but strong sealing charm which only she could break. When she turned, the figure was in her room! 'How is this possible?' Hermione thought. She quickly cast a protection spell around herself.

The figure started towards her, she cast a few attack spells she knew towards it, the spell just went right through it. Hermione froze, if magic could not stop it, what could? Physical objects? She pushed her desk in between her and the figure, she wasn't sure if there was a person under the hood, they could be like dementors for all she knew. The table did little to distance her and it, she quickly made her way out of her room through the bathroom door. She went into Draco's room and went out into the common room. She cast another sealing charm in hopes it would keep whatever it was inside her room, at least until the teachers got here. Magic was obviously not something that would stop the figure; it walked right through Draco's room door like it was a curtain of water. Hermione ran down the steps, but when she got to the portrait hole, the figure grabbed her by her neck and threw her across the room, right into the collapsed couches.

Her head was spinning, she must have hit the couch really hard, she was seeing stars. The figure crossed the room and picked her up again and threw her against the tables by the glass wall. The tables broke upon impact and there was glass raining on her, she must've shattered the wall. Hermione could not feel much of the pain, adrenaline in her body was at an all-time high, she needed to get out of here as quick as possible. But before she could even stand up, the figure grabbed her hair and dragged her across the floor; she could feel the glass tear into her skin and her blood oozing down her legs and everywhere else on her body. The dragging finally stopped, but when it did, something worse happened.

She was hit by some kind of foul curse that hurt even more than the Cruciatus Curse. This curse made it feel like her eyes were being gouged out by rusty spoons while acid was being poured into them and she was being skinned and boiling hot water was being poured over her. It felt as though her brain was being eaten by insects and her skull was being cracked open. This cruse made her remember all the bad things she had done in her life, and all the bad things she would do in the future. This curse made it feel like her heart was going to explode and her head implode at the same time. Yes, this curse was more painful than the Cruciatus Curse by a mile. The entire time the curse was being used on her, she could not scream, she tried, but no sound came out of her mouth. It was like the first nightmare she had when she first got back to Hogwarts.

Just as her vision was starting to go black, she heard the portrait door open and people enter the room, the pain had stopped shortly after.

When Hermione came to, the first thing she noticed was her splitting headache and just how bright the room was. Her hand was head in someone else's; she looked over to see a head of long red hair next to her, Ginny. She was asleep; she had her head against the shoulder of a boy with messy black hair. She squeezed Ginny's hand lightly, signalling that she was conscious, she had no idea how long she had been out for. Ginny stirred for a few moments, but shot right up when she saw that Hermione's eyes were open.

"She's awake!" Ginny announced happily and loudly, maybe a little too loudly. She woke Harry and everyone else that was in the room; Madam Pomfrey rushed to her bed side and begun to run tests on her. Hermione tried to sit up, but the matron insisted she continue to lie down, so she did. When her vision started to focus, she saw there were more people by her bed. There was Harry, Ginny, Madam Pomfrey, Headmistress McGonagall and Draco. She was shocked to find Draco there, not that she wasn't grateful. She then wondered where in Merlins beard her own boyfriend was.

"Hermione, we were all worried about you, how are you feeling?" Harry asked in a soft, worried voice. She loved this boy like a brother, he cared so much for the people he loved. But sometimes he worried too much, it looked like she was dead and she had just been revived, then again, that might just be what happened. She gave him a small smile in response, he seemed to visibly relax.

"What happened?" she asked to no one in particular. It was Draco who replied her question.

"You were attacked by someone or something. We found you in our common room, all bloody and bruised. The thing that caused it seemed to be torturing you without the use of a wand or a spell or anything. When we got to you, you passed out from pain, presumably. Your whole body was covered in scratchers and blood, we thought you were dead." He replied in a very low and grim voice. He looked livid, but why, she wasn't sure. But the expression on his face made her feel sorry for whoever he was going to unleash his anger on.

"Where's Ron?" this question was directed at Ginny and Harry. They both looked down onto the floor. They had matching expressions of anger, shame and guilt written on their faces. "Harry, Ginny, where is he?" she asked again, this time with more force in her voice.

"He is in our dormitory, asleep." Harry replied her; he still hadn't taken his eyes off the floor. Either there was something very interesting on the floor, or there was more he wasn't telling her.

"And?" she demanded, not expecting just how much the answer would hurt her.

"He's not alone." He added. As soon as he said those words, she didn't need any more explanation. He cheated. Hermione felt like she had been hit with a sledgehammer in the head. She had no reaction, she didn't even feel pain, she felt numb.

"How long was I out for?" she asked, in a cold, distant tone which made her sound more like a robot than anything else.

"Three days Ms. Granger." This time it was Headmistress McGonagall that replied her. The entire time she had been silently watching them, Hermione had forgotten she was there. "I am so sorry Ms. Granger, I don't wish to be insensitive, but I'm afraid I will need to ask you a few questions. You need not answer them today; I would think you need your rest. I would like to come back tomorrow morning and enquire what exactly happened to you. I have already gotten Mr. Malfoys side of the story, I just need yours. Rest not child and I truly am sorry." She finished, pat Hermione on her arm, and walked away.

"Hermione, how are you?" Ginny asked, she had a sad and worried look on her face. Hermione didn't respond, she just continued to stare straight ahead. She could not feel anything, there was no pain, neither emotional nor physical, there was no anger, no sadness, nothing. She felt empty, like a black hole.

"I think I need to rest." Was all she said. Harry and Ginny nodded and left. Madam Pomfrey left to get Hermione a sleepless potion. But Draco remained. He hadn't said anything after he explained what happened, he still said nothing. He just sat down in the chair next to her bed, where Ginny had previously sat. When Madam Pomfrey returned to giver Hermione her potions, she was starting to feel dizzy. 'It must be an after effect,' she thought to herself. Soon enough, she was falling into a sea of nothing. She dreamt of nothing, she felt nothing, she thought of nothing, she felt like she was nothing.

It was around four in the afternoon when she woke up. The hospital wing was quiet, her headache had mostly gone and she could barely feel her wounds. For a few seconds, she had forgotten everything. But all the events from the previous days suddenly hit her like a train. The attack in her common room, finding out that Ron was a cheating bastard, all the pain she had gone through within those few days, both physical and emotional. She was glad she was the only one, or what felt like the only one, in the hospital wing, because seconds later, the tears that she had been holding back yesterday, were falling freely now. She hated crying, but she loathed crying in front of people, and she was thankful there wasn't anyone to see her now. All the emotions she didn't show yesterday came out now. Hurt, anger, rejection, pain, frustration, confusion, and pure sadness, all these emotions she was feeling engulfed her like a huge wave would eat anything in its way.

Her mind was buzzing, she couldn't think straight, but all she knew was that she had to get out of there. She stood up, tried to wipe the tears off her face, but they just kept falling from her eyes. She put on whatever robes and shoes she found near her bed and just bolted out of the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey tried to stop her, but when she had gotten to Hermione's bed, she was already out the door. She ran into a few students, and even knocked a few down, she mumbled her apologies, and continued to run, where to, she didn't know. She just ran. She ran until her legs could no longer stand it.

When she stopped running, she found herself by the Black lake. She didn't know why she ran here of all places, she had so many memories with Ron here. This was the place he first took her out on a picnic when they were still rebuilding Hogwarts after the war was over. More tears rolled down her face, and she continued to run.

The next time she stopped, was when she tripped over a tree root, she had ran into the Forbidden Forest. She had no idea how far in the forest she was, or even where she was roughly. She crawled up next to the tree she had tripped on and curled into a ball by the roots. She then completely let all her emotions out. She screamed, cried and even hit things in her frenzy; she was glad she had ran into the forest now, no one she knew could find her here. After her little episode, she felt so exhausted and passed out. Her entire body and mind were exhausted from the running to all the emotions that she was feeling. She just couldn't handle it, so her body did what it normally did when she felt this exhausted, it shut down.

Only once before had she felt this exhausted and her body had just stopped working, it was when she and Harry were running from Snatchers the year of the war. Harry never told anyone this because he knew Hermione didn't want anyone else to know what had happened that night, not even Hermione can fully remember what happened. Harry told her that since they hadn't been eating regularly or properly for a few weeks, and from all the constant running they were doing and all the mental strain she had gone through, her body could take no more, and she had just passed out, and hadn't woken up for two whole days. During that time Harry had to give her water through a muggle IV drip which he had found in her bag. He had set up camp and put up as many concealment charms and protection spells he knew to ensure no Snatchers would happen upon them.

She had dreamt of her being alone in a semi dark, circular room, there weren't any windows or doors. There was one source of light; it came from a floating image. It was like a modified version of a pensive, where it showed her memories, but instead of her needing to dunk her head into it, it flashed her her memories like a television would.

The first memory she saw was of the first day she had met Harry and Ron, on the train to Hogwarts, looking for Neville's toad. The remembered that day like it was yesterday, she was walking down the corridor when Neville had bumped into her. He had a desperate look on his face when he had asked if she had seen his toad, Trevor, a look so desperate, Hermione instantly felt like she had to help the poor boy find his toad, so she did. She had gone through half the compartment with Neville when she happened across Harry and Ron trying to do magic. She had not known that day would be the beginning to a beautiful friendship for years to come, and eventual heartache by the man she loved.

The second memory was of her in the toilet, crying. Ron had upset her and she had not gone out of the toilet for the rest of the day. Funny how things seem to repeat. She had just gotten out of her stall when the mountain troll had stumbled into the girls toilet. Not long after, Harry and Ron had saved her from the troll, she lied to protect them and had gained their friendship.

The third memory was of the next year, when she and Draco had gotten into a little spat, it was the first time he had used the word mudblood on her. she watched as Ron had defended her, she knew Harry would've done the same, but he didn't know what being called a mudblood meant. My, how far Draco has come since those days.

The fourth one was when she and Ron had another one of their arguments about Crookshanks. She should have just let her cat kill the bloody rat. Life would've been so much easier.

The next one was on the night of the Yule Ball. Hermione remembered being so happy that someone had asked her to the ball, and wanted to look her very best. Her night had been going perfectly, until Ron had ruined it. She wouldn't admit it, but she quite liked feeling beautiful, even if it was for a short while. When she looked back on that memory, and realised that Ron was just jealous of Viktor. She really wanted that Ron back.

The next few memories started to get darker and darker. Her first dark memory was when they had their battle against the Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries. She remembered being hit by a nasty spell and how badly it hurt. The second one was when she first witnessed Ron and Lavender Brown kissing. This memory was the one that hurt the most because it was basically what he was doing now, she didn't know who he had cheated on her with, but this memory stung the most. The second last memory was when the three of them had gotten captured by Snatchers and brought to Malfoy Manor, where she was tortured. The Cruciatus Curse felt like the most painful thing she could ever feel, but she was wrong, whatever that thing had done to her the other night, and whatever she was feeling now, hurt more than the Cruciatus Curse, by at least tenfold. Her last memory was when she had Ron had their first kiss during the war. They were in the Chamber of Secrets and she had just destroyed a horcrux. That was the best few seconds of her entire life up till then. And now, she was as destroyed as Voldermort's soul.


	15. Curses and Remedies

**Here's the new chapter guys :) Hope you enjoy it. Sorry if I don't post chapters as frequently, I have work and classes Pls R&R. **

The first thing he saw when he had returned to their common room was the same cloaked figure that had been appearing in his nightmares every night. When the figure had noticed there were other people in the room, it disappeared, Draco couldn't say how. It was only after the figure disappeared when he saw Hermione lying on the floor in their common room, passed out and covered in blood, Draco panicked to say the least. He rushed to her side to check if she was still breathing, thankfully she was, but barely. He quickly, but gently, picked Hermione up and ran to the hospital wing, Professor McGonagall followed behind him. He paid no attention to her or anyone else he saw in the hallways.

When he reached the hospital wing, he placed her onto one of the empty beds while Professor McGonagall called for Madam Pomfrey. The old matron rushed over and started performing healing spells to stop the bleeding and checked to see if she had any internal damage.

Draco could not believe what his eyes had seen; they must have played a trick on him or something. 'That thing couldn't be real.' He told himself. 'It's all in my head.' He reasoned, 'I must be imagining things.' He just would not accept that whatever he had seen standing over Hermione, was the same thing that he had been dreaming about. He then thought back to the night he had woken up and found blood on his pillow, it was real. He just didn't know how that thing came out from his nightmare. She was attacked, and it was his fault, again.

He had always blamed himself for Hermione getting tortured in his manor during the war, even though it was his aunt Bella that had done the actual torturing. He kept wondering if he could've saved her from all that pain, but if he had done something, it might have risked his mother's life. So he did nothing instead.

"Mr. Malfoy, would you please tell me what happened when you and Ms. Granger went back to your dormitories?" Professor McGonagall asked him when Madam Pomfrey was finishing running tests on Hermione.

"Gra- Hermione and I were on our way back from the library after completing our homework. When we entered our common room, it was messed up, like someone had been looking for something. Both our rooms were also torn apart in the process. I ran to get you and the other teachers while I asked Hermione to stay behind. I had no clue she would get attacked. If I had known, I wouldn't have left her there by herself... I wouldn't…" Draco could not finish his sentence. He was trying his best to stay calm, but he just couldn't.

"Calm down Mr. Malfoy. I know you had nothing to do with it. Now please, return to the Slytherin common room, I'm sure that they would still have a place for you there while we investigate and clean up your rooms. You would be able to return tomorrow night. I will talk to you when Hermione wakes up." The headmistress said and Draco left for the Slytherin common rooms in the dungeons.

When he arrived in front of the stone wall, he muttered the password and entered. Sitting on the couch was Blaise. When he spotted Draco, he went up to him, but the smile on his face faded as he got closer to Draco; the look on his face was betraying everything he was feeling. It was very unlike Draco, who usually had a mask on at all hours of the day, so people wouldn't know what he was feeling.

"What happened Draco?" Blaise asked in a worried tone. When he didn't answer, Blaise knew something was wrong. He led his best friend to his dormitory which was thankfully empty.

"She was attacked. I couldn't stop it." Was all he managed, his face was as white as a ghost.

"Who was attacked? Was it Hermione?" Draco nodded. Blaise's face fell. Draco knew he was close with Hermione; this would affect Blaise more than himself. "How are you holding up mate?" Blaise asked.

"I'm okay; I wasn't in the room when she was attacked. I had gone to get the teachers for a different reason. And when I returned, I saw her lying in her own blood. And that thing…" Draco couldn't even finish his sentence; he felt a chill go down his spine just thinking about it.

"What thing? Was there another person in the room when you got there?" Blaise asked more worried now. Everyone knew it would take an extremely powerful wizard or witch to apparate or enter Hogwarts grounds uninvited. Draco shook his head.

"That's why I said thing, not person. You're going to think I'm crazy when I tell you what I think I saw." Blaise was looking at him, obviously wanting to hear the rest. "I think whatever attacked Hermione came from my dreams." He then proceeded to describe whatever he think he saw; Blaise's face was falling with each second. "And that's what I think attacked Hermione." He finished his explanation.

"Why would you think something like that came from your dreams, maybe it's just a coincidence." Blaise said, obviously trying to hide something.

"Because, I've been dreaming of the same…thing, for the past week or so, and that's not normal. And I know you know something, so best come off with it." Blaise sighed before he answered.

"I think you were cursed. Whatever that thing is, I think it is a manifestation of your nightmares and all your negative emotions. This is very rare, someone would have to have cursed you and make you drink potion. Which itself is very hard to make as its ingredients are very hard to find. Whoever cursed you, also somehow managed to curse Hermione as well, what for, and your guess is as good as mine. But this curse is weird. As the two of you were most likely cursed by the same person, for whatever reason, it binds the two of you. I'm not too sure how it binds you, or why, but I know it does." His tone indicated that this was a very serious matter.

"Why would anyone want to curse Hermione? Me, I understand, but her? What would either of us have that is so important? Do you know what happens to someone who gets cursed?"

"Well, if you were just hit by the spell or just drank the potion by itself, nothing really bad happens, just a few nightmares. But to be cursed and to drink the potion, that's really bad news. The main purpose of the spell is to inflict not only physical pain, but also to torment the mind until whoever cursed the two of you, deems it enough or has gotten whatever he wanted. Whatever this person wants, or wants to do, is important enough to go through a method this complex and deadly. Most people who have been cursed usually either go mad or take their own life in the process as the pain and their deteriorating mind is too much for them to bare. The survival rate of this curse does not work in your favour." Blaise said in a grim tone.

"How do you know so much about this curse? I've never even heard of it. What is it even called?"

"I don't know if it has a name, but all I know is that it takes a very skilled witch or wizard to cast the spell and to make the potion. It is regarded as one of the foulest curses that was ever created. I know so much about it as it was used on my father, well, one of them at least, but he was nice enough to my mother and I, I quite liked him. He was cursed because he had something a Death Eater, or someone like that, wanted really badly, but he wouldn't give it up. So he was cursed, and at the end of it, he took his own life. I still remember how he had slowly deteriorated, his mind, health, even his actions became so unlike him. He was never a overprotective man with his things, nor was he ever violent, but when he got cursed, he started to become very possessive and really paranoid. If my mother or I even touched something we weren't supposed to, he would lash out, sometimes even hit us. It wasn't long until he had gone completely mad and taken his own life. But I remember one night, the night before he took his own life, when I saw what was haunting his nightmares; it was this very scary looking creature. I wasn't sure what it was, it had the head of a werewolf, a torso of a man, the arms of a crab or some kind of pincers and had spiders legs. I have never seen my step father that scared ever in my entire life. I screamed and ran for my room, and the next morning, he was dead. I found his body. It was all bruised and scratched, but what had killed him were two slits on his wrist, he bleed out. In the end, the person who had cursed him, had gotten what he wanted, I just don't know what it was." Draco could see the bad memories replaying in his best friends mind; he had never known any of this. Draco touched the insides of his left wrist when Blaise had mentioned how his step father had died. Blaise practically had no emotion when recounting all that had happened to him, he wondered how damaged he really was, was he as messed up as Draco? Maybe that was why they got along so well. But two broken pieces do not make a whole.

"I didn't know that. Why didn't you ever tell me this?"

"It's not the happiest of memories to remember. And I never really saw why I would; it played no part in anything till now." Blaise shrugged. "Anyway, there's an empty bed next to Theo's, you're welcome to stay there for the night." He said, the conversation clearly over for the night.

And so the night went, Draco got ready for bed and fell into an uneasy sleep.

In his dreams, he saw her. He was watching her get tortured, and it in turn, tortured him. He couldn't save her yet again. She was lying on the ground, shattered glass surrounded her. She was trying to escape, crawling her way on the floor that was filled with shattered glass, when suddenly; she curled up in a ball and started to scream. He had never heard someone scream that loudly ever in his life, not even when she had the Cruciatus Curse used on her in his manor. Her scream made his blood curdle and his head ache. But this scream was unusually loud, it was like her screams had been magnified in his head. He was looking down on Hermione, her screams were getting louder and louder, he could see tears falling from her face and onto the ground to mix with her blood. Blood and tears, he had seen enough to last many lifetimes.

Wait, why was he seeing her from her attacker's point of view?

He then realised that he was the attacker, or at least in this nightmare he was. This had something to do with the curse, he was sure of it. When he was in the attackers head, the only things he could hear was Hermione's screams and a faint mumbling of words he did not understand. This is what the attacker used to torture Hermione, he just wasn't sure what it was. Was it a chant or a spell? He couldn't tell.

Hermione's screams stopped when he saw himself enter the common room, and the figure disappeared into thin air, only to reappear in what looked like a forest. Trees surrounded him and he couldn't see more than five inches from his nose, he could barely make out his own hand, but he walked like he had been here thousand times, which he hadn't.

"Have you done it?" Asked a deep voice, it sounded like it was male, but it could have also been a female using a charm to mask her voice. Draco couldn't see whoever was talking to him, it was too dark, but he nodded. "Good, proceed to the next phase." And just like that, he was pulled from his sleep.

"Draco!" Blaise yelled into his ear.

"By the gods Blaise!" Draco yelled back, he had adopted some slang from the book he had been reading. "What's gotten into you?"

"That was exactly what I was going to ask you! I woke up to take a piss, and there you are, freaking glowing in the dark! What the hell was that all about?"

"I was glowing?" He asked, confused.

"Hell yeah you were glowing, like a fucking firefly." He said very animatedly. After a while, he calmed down a bit. "It might have something to do with the curse, I'm not too sure. I never saw my step father sleep. What were you dreaming about?"

"It was odd, I saw Hermione getting tortured, but this time, it was like I was the one attacking her. I could hear her screaming in my head and some sort of mumbling or chant. But the strange thing is, when I found her, I heard nothing. She wasn't screaming, at all. Then after 'I' disappeared, 'I' was in the Forbidden Forest, and someone talked to 'me'. It sounded like whoever 'I' was meeting was a guy, but I couldn't be sure. They asked if it was done and asked the thing to proceed to the next phase, whatever that is." Draco finished.

"Well, whatever it is, we best be ready when it happens, I don't want anyone else to get injured. You'd better get your sleep; we can visit Hermione tomorrow." Blaise said as he exited the room, most likely to take that piss he had been holding in. And so, Draco fell back into an empty dream.

The next day, he and Blaise went to visit Hermione at the hospital wing after breakfast. She was the same as how he had seen her yesterday, pale and unconscious. 'Why is it that every time I find her, she is always unconscious?' he asked himself. According to Madam Pomfrey, she had sustained a couple broken ribs, a fractured arm, a shattered nose and a severe concussion. Her cuts and bruises were starting to heal, thanks to the potion that she was being fed through a tube that was stuck into her arm; according to the nurse it was called an IV drip, a muggle invention.

Blaise asked if she could inform them if there was any change in her condition, the nurse said she would.

"She looks terrible." Blaise said to Draco.

"Imagine what she looked like when she was covered in her own blood." He replied.

"God, why would anyone want to put the two of you through this hell?" Blaise said more to himself than Draco.

"Trust me, I want to find out as well." he said with a determined tone, he wasn't going to watch Hermione die or slowly become insane, he had to put an end to his. So he and Blaise went to where answers for all the questions they had most likely were, the library. That was a very 'Hermione' move.

They had spent every second of their free time in the library, looking up things about this curse and what they could do to stop it. It had only been on the second day of looking through countless thick books and tomes when they had finally found something.

"I think I found something Draco." Blaise said to him, they were sitting at Hermione's table, seeing as she was unconscious, they didn't think she would mind. They had sat here so they would not be disturbed or questioned as to why they were looking up dark magic and curses. Draco moved towards Blaise and peered over his shoulder. "It says here that the curse is called 'Dead Dream', very unauthentic if you ask me. Anyway, this book says it has the ability to being one's worst nightmares to life and torment whoever is cursed, that we already knew. It doesn't say much about how the curse works though. Oh wait, here it is. As time passes, the curse would get progressively stronger, that doesn't sound good. After a full month, whatever the cursed is dreaming about, the hooded figure in yours and Hermione's case, would eventually become strong enough to become a real thing. As in it would become human or whatever it is. But the thing is, it would be able to do real harm to you now."

"Real harm? What do you call whatever that thing did to Hermione? Fake harm? She's unconscious goddamnit." Draco said softly, but angrily.

"Hey, I'm on your side remember? I'm only reading what the book says. Now, do you want me to continue or not?" Draco nodded. "Okay, let's see. The book says, the only ways to survive this curse is by either whoever that put it on you to take it off, or to make this incredibly complex potion, spell and whatever ritual is mentioned in this book."

"There's a way of removing it? How?" There was something he felt again that he had not felt in a long time. Hope.

"Well, you'd have to make this potion, which calls for a bunch of things I've never even heard of, let alone seen. Then there's this spell, it requires really complex movements, and one wrong flick could mean instant death. And, hold on, here it is. The ritual. But this is for if one person is cursed, not two. Wait; let me check on what it says about binding two cursed people. Here, it says that two people who are bounded usually have similar, if not the exact same, nightmare or at least main nightmare figure or theme. They would be able to sense each other's fears and whatever the other person is feeling. The two would eventually be able to read each other's minds as the curse advanced. Hey, this bind doesn't sound too bad, it actually sounds pretty cool. Oh wait, found the downside. As the spell progresses, the two who are bound would eventually feel and experience the same pain, emotions and whatever else. So if one of you is attacked, the other would get injured too, and if one of you is becoming mentally unstable, the other would soon be the same." He finished.

Draco didn't like the sound of it one bit. He didn't mind if Hermione was injured and he felt it too, it was the other way round that scared him. What if he fell from playing quidditch, or got hit by a nasty spell when he was out? He didn't want her to feel the same pain he did, or experience the same emotions he.

"What is the ritual for people who are bound by this curse? Does it say?" Hope fading from his voice.

"Yes, I believe it does, but it's weird."

"Any weirder than whatever shit we're in right now?"

"When you put it like that, no. Well, this ritual says that the two who are bound to one another must find true love, it does not say whether it is with each other or just in general, and they must shed blood from that person, I don't believe it has to be fatal. After the blood is shed, they must drink the blood, that's just fucking disgusting if you ask me. After drinking the blood, they must recite some chant and continue to say it until some light or some shit like that indicates that they have been freed from the curse."

"In theory it doesn't sound too hard, but putting it into practice, that's a different game all together. Well, what have I to lose?" Draco said, more to encourage himself than Blaise.

"Well, if you fail, at any one of these steps, the both of you die." Blaise said bluntly.

"Oh, that changes things." In his mind, the only thing that he could think about was what would happen to Hermione if he failed. He didn't care if he died; he has tried to take his own life multiple times already. The real thing couldn't be much harder. Death is easy, life is hard. He didn't want Hermione to die though, he needed to do this for her and not be selfish.

They took notes on what the needed ingredients were for the potion, the exact movements for the spell and the steps for the ritual. They also found a spell that would tell if whoever you were in love with was true or not, as an extra precaution. It was kind of messed up, hell; this whole situation they are in is messed up.

With all that, they left the library, finally feeling like they could actually beat this curse.

The next day, he got word from Madam Pomfrey that Hermione's condition had been improving and that she may wake up any moment. As soon as he knew that, he dropped what he was doing, literally, he was cleaning his broom when he got the news and he just dropped it on the floor and ran out the portrait hole. Draco would never drop his broom, but this time, he didn't care. The entire way to the hospital wing, the only thing he could think about was her. How she was, how she was feeling, what she remembered. When he arrived there, he was not surprised to see Harry and Ginny already at her bedside. He was shocked that they had not bothered him for the past three days or so. He would've thought they wanted answers immediately, and blame him for everything, he knew he certainly had. He touched his left wrist as he made his way to Hermione's bedside, constantly checking to see if the new scars were showing, they weren't.

As Draco made his way to the bed, Harry turned and saw him. He nodded curtly and even gave Draco a small smile. This was even more shocking. When had he and Harry James Potter ever gotten along? When he got closer to her bed, he noticed there were more people hidden behind the drawn curtain. Headmistress McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey were watching her anxiously, not even aware that he had been present. But after a few hours of waiting for Hermione to wake up, the headmistress and the matron stepped back and started discussing something in hushed tones, Harry and Ginny had fallen asleep, and Draco remained standing at the foot of her bed, thinking of the curse and how to remove it. He knew he would have to tell Hermione everything when she woke, he was just trying to find the right way to say it.

Ginny's announcement brought Draco from his thoughts. When she had asked what had happened, he felt that it should be him to tell her, seeing that he was the one who had found her, again. So he explained everything that had happened, feeling very angry at whoever had cursed them, he would get his revenge, one way or another.

When she had asked where her boyfriend was, he noticed Harry's and Ginny's face fall to the floor, indicating that whatever news was not going to be good. Then he broke the news to her, that the Weasel was a no good two timer, with a girlfriend in the hospital after being attacked. And what does he do? Sleep with another girl. He saw Hermione's heart break right in front of him, but she shed no tears, no emotions showed on her face. The only thing she had asked was how long she had been out for, the headmistress answered her, and she said she needed to rest. While Harry, Ginny and McGonagall had left, Draco stayed to ensure that she would not do anything stupid to herself, like what he had been doing to himself for the past year or so. He didn't want anyone else to have to go through whatever he had alone, not like him.

So he sat in the chair Harry had been sitting in and stayed until she had fallen asleep. He himself had fallen asleep, Madam Pomfrey had woken him up and asked him to return to his own dormitory. So he did.

**This is the longest chapter I've ever written. I don't know why I like making Draco find Hermione, I think I like seeing him as the hero, not as the villain. Hope you liked it. Pls R&R. **


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